If only you knew
by shane.mc
Summary: set in the flashback of soi fong during the fight btw her and yoruichi. disclaimer: i don't own bleach or any of its kick ass characters. sorry for the bad grammar and spelling and sentence structures. final is up!
1. Leaving

Soi Fon was practicing her kata as usual when her cousin interrupted her.

"What is it?" frowned Soi Fon as she stopped her training. She hated it when people interrupted.

"Soi fon, gundanchou has called a meeting for the entire corps and all her bodyguards are supposed to turn up in five minutes. " said her cousin timidly wishing that she could give the message and get the hell away from the really pissed off aura that Soi Fon was giving off.

"Is that it? If it is then you can leave." With that, Soi Fon shunpoed to her quarters to change out of her training gear.

_-----Ten minutes later-----_

"I'm so sorry I'm late gundanchou!" said Soi Fon kneeling in front of the closed shoji.

"Come in and stop apologizing. It's only five minutes and what did I say about calling me gundanchou?"

"H—Hai. Yoruichi-sama." Stutter Soi Fon as she blushes under the intensity of Yoruichi's gaze.

"Okay you people, listen up. Now that every one of us is present let's get on with this. We have received a report from the recon team about a hollow that needs the attention of the secret mobile corps. According to them, it is pretty difficult to kill…."

While Yoruichi went on about the latest mission for the corps, Soi Fon found her attention shifting from the hollow report to the gestures and features of the cocoa goddess sitting across her. To most people, it would seem as though Soi Fon was giving her utmost attention to what the speaker was saying; but they are only half right. Soi Fon was indeed giving her full attention to the speaker but all of it was on how the speaker move and talk and none on the topic at hand.

"_Yoruichi-sama__…she really is the epitome of beauty and perfection. Everything about her is graceful and elegant. Her voice is so hypnotic that I can lose myself in it forever. She look so perfect, with her long slender fingers, flat stomach, gorgeous long legs an__d those golden eyes that seem to see through your very soul.__ I wonder what it'll be like to kiss her... OMG! What is this! What am I thinking about!!! __Yoruichi-sama__ is the princess of the __Shihouin__ clan I can't be thinking about her in this manner. God, I'm so ashamed of myself. If __Yoruichi-sama__ ever finds out about this__ she'll probably kicked me out of the ranks of her bodyguard and think that I'm a pervert. Stupid brain." _thought Soi Fon.

"Soi Fon. Soi Fon!" called Yoruichi, waving her hands in front of her. Seeing that nothing caught the attention of her bodyguard, she reached over and shook Soi Fon hard literally shaking her out of her reverie.

"Ah!!!" yelped Soi Fon as she felt Yoruichi's hand on her shoulder shaking her. "G---Gomen gun..I mean Yoruichi-sama" stuttered Soi Fon blushing hard with her eyes on the floor praying feverishly that Yoruichi hasn't caught her daydreaming in the middle of the meeting and her blush.

Yoruichi chuckled inwardly at the cute display in front of her. "Why are you daydreaming in the middle of the meeting? As a punishment I shall bring you with me to get rid of this hollow."

"Demo Yoruichi-sama, you could just send me to deal with it. You don't have to deal with this hollow personally." argued Soi Fon.

"Hah! I knew you weren't paying attention to what I was saying. Central 46 had specifically stated that I go, besides, it would be a good exercise for me." laughed Yoruichi. "Anyway, it's time to go"

"H—Hai!" said Soi Fon, vowing inwardly to not let any hollow touch a hair on Yoruichi's head.

_-----At the battlefield-----_

Even though they were in midst of a battle, Soi Fon felt strangly at ease and happy as, with the exception of the hollow, she was alone with Yoruichi. "_This should be simple." _thought Soi Fon as she launched herself at the hollow with a loud battle cry. Cleaving it into half from it head, she purified the hollow and landed at the edge of the cliff.

"_Now that's done. __Yoruichi-sama__don't__ have to be exposed to unnecessary danger__. We can re__.."_

Soi Fon's thoughts are interrupted as a massive hand grabbed her from behind. The ecstatic cry of a hollow having found a tasty meal could be heard. As the hollow brought her closer and closer to its opened mouth, Soi Fon saw her whole life flashing in front of her. Strangely, all of it was of Yoruichi. The first time she met her as a child, when she joined the corps, when she became her bodyguard, her smiles, laughter and voice.

"Y_oruichi-sama__…I have to protect her."_ thought Soi Fon as she tried to squirm her way out of the hollow's grip but to no avail.

Anger washed over Yoruichi and rage consumed her when she saw Soi Fon being swiped by the hollow. She had this feeling that if Soi Fon died, she probably won't be able to continue living. Though she was confused by what she felt, she channel her rage into killing the hollow that was about to devour her bodyguard. Jumping into the air, she slice off the arm imprisoning Soi Fon and proceed to stick her katana into its mask, killing it in the process. Feeling very pleased that Soi Fon is safe and unharmed she was about to leave when she saw Soi Fon kneeling in front of her.

"Let's go." said Yoruichi turning to leave.

"My deepest apologies." said Soi Fon with her head bowed. "I'm supposed to guard you and yet, I lacked the strenght."

"Gah! That's the problem? There's no need to worry about it." replied Yoruichi smiling. "_As long as you are safe; nothing else matters."_ She added silently in her head.

"But!" retorted Soi Fon.

"If I say it's okay, then it's okay."

"Gundanchou…."

"Hmmmm?"

"No, I was just talking to myself, Yoruichi-sama."

"Right! Let's go." Smiled Yoruichi.

"H---Hai!" was all Soi Fon managed to get out before shunpoing after her mistress. _"I'll always stay by your side to protect you. That's a promise."_

_-----Later that night-----_

Soi Fon was training again. After what had happened in the afternoon, she felt terribly ashamed of herself. "How am I going to protect Yoruichi-sama by doing this?! Or this?!" she screamed while leaping through the air, slashing at an invisible enemy, her blade swishing so quickly that it is a silver blur.

Soi Fon landed to shift into another stance when she felt a familiar hand covered hers, griping the katana and anther one on her shoulder. _"__Yoruichi-sama__!"_The effect that the dark skinned goddess had on her was instantaneous. Soi Fon could feel her blood rushing to her face, flushing it pink under the glow of the moon. Her body stiffened at the contact. Every nerve, every fibre of her being is no longer tired but instead very alert and she could feel the warmth of Yoruichi's body through her clothes. It took all of her self control to not sink into that blissful warmth. With Yoruichi this close, Soi Fon could not help wondering how long Yoruichi had been watching her and how she blind she could be to not notice her mistress's presence.

"Listen Soi Fon, you swing your sword like this" Yoruichi breathes into her apprentice's ear, causing her to flush more as she swung their hands holding the blade pointing the blade upwards. This swing had increased the skin contact between the two of them and Soi Fon could feel her body betraying herself as dirty thoughts enter her head.

Soi Fon was not the only one having trouble controlling herself. Yoruichi could not help but realize how perfectly Soi Fon fitted into her arms even though they are now in a battle stance and there is a sword in their hands. A bubble of giddiness welled up inside her as the realization of how close she was holding Soi Fon hit her. The sudden wave of lust hit her as she studied the side profile of her apprentice. _"God, what is happening to me? __Soi__Fon__ is my bodyguard, a friend. Why am I thinking about how much I want to kiss her and feel her under me?"_

Shaking her head a little to rid her brain of those dirty thoughts, she went back to the task at hand. "And you swing the sword like that." Bringing their hands down from where they were in a circle before ending with an elegant upwards sweep. This move had exposed Soi Fon's creamy neck to Yoruichi who gulped at the sight and tried her hardest to stop herself from planting a kiss and more there.

Luckily for Yoruichi, Soi Fon disentangle herself from their current position to kneel in front of her before she could give in to the impulse.

"Don't brood over it like this. You are doing very well." said Yoruichi kindly as she mentally suppressed the emotions and thoughts that are ravaging her.

"No. I'm not good enough. If I want to protect Yoruichi-sama, my strength…. No, I'm lacking in everything" said Soi Fon down casted.

Seeing her apprentice feeling so down, it nearly ripped her heart out. Though she do not know why she was feeling like this, she knew without a doubt that she had to comfort Soi Fon.

"That's enough."

"Yoruichi-sama…" said Soi Fon as she looked up.

"You remind me of myself. Sometimes I feel like you are my sister." "W_ell, at least that's the truth until I figured out what I exactly feel for you. If only I can tell you that…."_

"Words like that are wasted on a person like me." "_I can't believe that __Yoruichi-sama__ actually feels like that…I should be happy about it… but why do I feel as though my heart is about to break in to thousands of pieces when I hear her utter the word sister?"_

"So, that's enough. It's full moon tonight." Yoruichi said as she plopped onto the grass and rested her head on the lap of the kneeling Soi Fon. "_Not to mention those cherry blossoms floating__ around__. I'm glad you're here to share it with me."_

They remained in that position for what seemed to be an eternity. Yoruichi closed her eyes as an internal battle raged within her as to whether to kiss Soi Fon.

"_The setting is too perfect to let such an opportunity slip by.__ Besides, I really do want to kiss her so badly…the full moon, the cherry blossoms…I wish I could just lay here with her forever. But, I promised __Kisuke__ that I did leave with him…if I kissed her now, I would be breaking her heart far more than if I don't. I'll be breaking my own heart too… no, scrap that. My heart is breaking right now just at the thought of leaving her here. Oh god, is there ever an easy way out of this? Why couldn't I control myself? I just had to see her one last time before I leave. Damn me and my stupid impulses and the habit of giving in to them."_

Just as the battle within her died down, she felt Soi Fon's hand stroking her hair and heard her say "I'll always be by your side to protect you. Always"

"Yeah, it's a promise." She replied before realizing the gravity and magnitude of the promise that she just made. "_baka__ mono!" _Yoruchi berated herself. "_What the hell are you thinking about, promising her like that. She'll hate your guts after this. You need to leave tonight. __Just admit it, you love her don't you. Stop hiding you coward…you can keep telling yourself that you only think of her as a sister and nothing else but you of all people know better." _

_"Damn conscience, can't you just shut up. Does it look like I'm enjoying and reveling in the fact that I'll be leaving her here soon? Fine! You win! I love her! I do! But what can I do? I can't take her with me. Over here she has a future; she is going to take over my position when I leave. She is strong, she can handle it." _

_"Yeah right, keep telling yourself that a million times over and maybe you'll believe one percent of what you just said. You know what she feels for you. Don't lie, you're not blind, and neither am I. Now, I know you want to kiss her. I can see how much you want to and that your self-restraint is going out of the window. But please, think of her and don't do it…for her, don't damage her to the point beyond repair."_

Ignoring her conscience's warning, Yoruichi shifted her position such that she is facing Soi Fon. This startled the girl and she withdraws her hand from her mistress's short violet locks. "Yoruichi-sama…" stuttered Soi Fon, shocked that her mistress wasn't asleep and is now staring very intently at her face. Soi Fon blushed.

"You know, you look very cute when you blush like that. Do you do this around everyone or is it just around me?" asked Yoruichi, her voice coming out huskier than she intended it to.

Upon hearing that, Soi Fon blushed harder and her vocabulary is only left with one word – "Y--Yoruichi-sama…"

Before she can get any more words out of her mouth, Soi Fon felt something soft against her lips. Looking down, she saw that Yoruichi had risen from her previous position and was now kissing her. Soi Fon stared, unable to believe the sight in front of her. The thing that she had been wishing and praying for had come true.

Yoruichi pulled away and watched the disbelief on Soi Fon's face. She watched amused as Soi Fon touched her lips in amazement and realization dawned on her. She can't believe that she hadn't kissed Soi Fon earlier. The feeling was much better than she had imagined and Soi Fon had tasted much sweeter. Kissing Soi Fon and holding her made Yoruichi feel strangely complete, as though a part of her that she never knew was missing had returned. Seizing her chance, she swooped in for another kiss before the shock Soi Fon was experiencing wears off. This kiss unlike the first was full of passion as Soi Fon finally realized that she wasn't dreaming and began to kiss back. Like Yoruichi, she realized the real thing was far better than what she had imagined. They explored and tasted each other as their tongues battle for dominance which Yoruichi won.

When both of them came up for air, Yoruichi enveloped Soi Fon in a hug and held her so tightly that Soi Fon thought that she would die of suffocation. Not that she minded, she could feel her love for Yoruichi literally pouring out of her and Yoruichi's love for her in the way she was being held.

"Come on, it's late. Time to leave, you have a busy day ahead little bee" said Yoruichi standing up and ruffling Soi Fon's hair. "Race you back to the quarters!" she called before shunpoing away.

After dropping Soi Fon off at her quarters and bidding her good night with a lingering kiss, Yoruichi hid in the shadows as she watched her little bee get ready for bed. She could tell how much she meant to Soi Fon in everything the younger girl did. The way she kiss, the way she would put herself in the path of danger to protect her, the way she glows and blushes when receiving a compliment and the way she gets ready for bed glowing because of what had just happened.

She waited until she is sure that her little bee is asleep before slipping into the room to cover her up in the blanket that she had kicked off. Her little bee had a smile on her face even in her sleep and she could her mumbling "Yoruichi-sama".

"Goodbye little bee…please know that I'll always love you. No matter where I am" murmured Yoruichi as she bend over and kissed Soi Fon's forehead. A single tear rolled down her face as she closed the door and shunpoed out of the room to the spot where she would meet Urahara without looking back.

* * *

Okay folks, this is my first attempt at a yorusoi fic. Reviews are very much appreciated. I take everything, criticisms, flaming and all. Hope I never made them too out of character, might continue if I can get enough idea as to what I should write. I think Yoruichi and Soi Fon make a really cute couple. ) 

Yours Sincerely,

shane.mc


	2. I will defeat you

-----Soi Fon-----

I woke up this morning, earlier, happier and more excited than normal. Fingering my own lips, the memory of the kiss under the full moon and cherry blossoms resurfaced. Even though I know that it did happen last night, the entire thing felt surreal this morning. I couldn't help but wonder if Yoruichi-sama feels the same way. What if she did? What if things get awkward between the two of us? At the thought of Yoruichi-sama, I could feel my heart pound harder, faster. The mere thought of the kiss was more than enough to make me blush. Wait a minute! Damn! I'm about to be late for fall in! If the thought of Yoruichi-sama was enough to reduce me to an idiot who sits there smiling to herself, I sure hope I don't behave like that in front of her. Oh god! Maybe I made a fool of myself each time without even realizing it. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! Ah, I finally reached. Maybe I can sneak in without….

"Soi Fon! You're late!" yelled the second in command of the secret mobile corps (SMC).

He is usually the one who is in charge of everything except Yoruichi-sama who is in charge of him. Damn, I wonder what kind of punishment he'll hand out to me. I heard he is known to be a huge sadist. Oh well, I will face whatever he gives with my head high and not show him that I'm weak. Afterall, I'm part of the elite bodyguards of the Yoruichi-sama.

"So, as your punishment, you shall be given a task that almost every single person in the SMC has tried to do but failed. Just so you know, they all ended up having to rest in the fourth division's ICU for at least a week. Your job is simple. Go wake the gundanchou and tell her that she needs to inspect the corps' training at 0800hrs. The time now is 0530hrs. You better start making your way there now. It's a long way in." smirked the second in command evilly. _The __gundanchou__ hates it when people wake her up before she decides to wake up. Let's see how long she will stay in the ICU for._ "Hey boys, wanna bet how long our only female will be in the ICU for? Hahahahha!"

So that piece of shit really isn't lying. The walk to Yoruichi-sama's quarters is a really long one and I haven't even reached the Shihouin estate! Ah! I saw it! Oh. My. God. It. Is. HUGE. My eyes widened till they are larger than saucers as I take in the vastness of Yoruichi-sama's home. I could see the actual building but it seems like a toy house from where I'm standing outside the gate. Even using shunpo, it took me half an hour to reach the building.

The first thing I realized when I step into the building is the elegant design and that the Shihouin clan is not a very showy one even though it is very obvious that they are a noble clan from the way they carry themselves. The next thing I notice was the security of the estate is the bare minimum. That was until I found out that every servant was a hakuda expert. I was shown to Yoruichi-sama's room by one of the servants who wished me luck. Guess he must have seen his fair share of SMC members getting beaten up by Yoruichi-sama. I knocked on the shoji and entered. Yoruichi-sama's room is like an apartment. It has a 'living room' and everything. All it short of was a kitchen. Walking down the long corridor, I reached the door at the end of it. Kneeling in front of the closed shoji, I knocked.

"Yoruichi-sama, it's me. Soi fon. I'm here to wake you up for the troop's inspection."

I looked at the sky, it should be around 0700hrs. I shall knock again in half an hour. Let Yoruichi-sama sleep longer. At the most I get more punishment. I would gladly take what's given if it means Yoruichi-sama can sleep for as long as she like.

-0730hrs-

I knocked on the door again. Silence greeted me again. Undaunted, I knocked a few more times. "I'm coming in." I called before sliding the shoji open. Seeing that the bed was made, I presumed that Yoruichi-sama must have gotten up and left without me realizing. So I reported back to the second in command. It was only then that I heard rumors that Urahara Kisuke, best friend of Yoruichi-sama and captain of the 12th squad was exiled due to the creation of a powerful object. The fact that Yoruichi-sama's bed hadn't been slept in hit me. Could she have left with him? No, no. I can't be thinking like that. Yoruichi-sama is not that irresponsible. I shook my head hard, trying to clear my thoughts. I should check, just to be sure. Yes, I will do just that. As her bodyguard, I have to ensure her safety. With that thought in mind, I shunpoed to the throne room where Yoruichi-sama would usually be at this time of the day.

Sliding the shoji open with a flourish that's very unlike me, I was shocked to see the room so empty and cold. She isn't here! By then, rumors that she had left with Urahara taichou reached my ears. No. I don't believe it. Yoruichi-sama must have gone on a vacation. She will be back. I will go to her favourite hideouts and look for her. If there is a need, I'll search the entire Soul Society. I'll show them that Yoruichi-sama didn't abandon her rank, her title and me.

Like a mad woman, I tore through Soul Society, going from one hideout to another. After searching each hideout, I told myself that she'll be at the next one although it is almost certain that she had left with Urahara taichou. Not giving up, I begin to comb the entire Soul Society.

-10 years later-

I finally finish searching the entire Soul Society. She couldn't be found. I lost all hope. My reason to live and continue living had left without a word. I went numb. For a long time I just sat there, under the cherry blossom tree staring into space. I wanted to cry, but somehow, it seems as though there is no tears left. All I could feel is this sharp pain in my chest that is more painful than any life threatening wounds I ever received. The pain was unbearable. Is this what it feels like to have your heart broken? I wanted the pain to stop. Shihouin Yoruichi! You left me. After giving me what I have always dreamed of, you left. You left without saying a word. Without saying goodbye. I respected you, worshipped you, idolized you, loved you and yet, I'm not even worthy of a goodbye or a note. I'll get stronger. I'll show you who's better. I'll surpass you and capture you with my own hands. I will defeat you, Shihouin Yoruichi!

-25 years later-

Bankai. I finally achieved it. For the past 15 years, I have been training incessantly. The days meld together to form the longest training session I ever underwent and it is just about to get longer. Never did I lose sight of my goal. If I want to defeat Yoruichi I'll have to get stronger. Even being the captain of the 2nd squad, supreme commander of the SMC and chief commander of the Correction Corps; at this level, I'm of no threat to her. I have to work harder.

It was during one of the all nighters that I discovered it. The technique which combines hakuda and kido. I was elated. Yoruichi doesn't know this yet. It shall be my trump card when I come up against her. I pushed myself harder than before. On top of my usual training, I spent time completing the technique. Sleep was something I do when I have the time. I must defeat her.

-50 years later-

Oh god. They gave me an imbecile for a vice captain. I got the urge to have Suzumebachi sting him. He thinks he is all just because he is from a rich family. Oh, the words I can use to describe him are endless. We have arrogant, obnoxious, greedy...the list goes on. And not to mention fat. I happen to know a person who is richer than him by at least a thousand times. No! I don't. The person no longer exist in my heart. Right. I have to stop kidding myself. Smile. It means to assume a facial expression indicating pleasure, favor, or amusement. Something I haven't done since she left 50 years ago. The word no longer exists in my dictionary. It is replaced by scowl and when I'm in a better mood than usual, frown. Over these 50 years, without me realizing, I have alienated and scared the hell out of everyone I know and everyone I don't. I have become an ice queen with a heart of stone. It suits me just fine. I just want to defeat her. Taking over her old position means nothing as I saw firsthand her strength and how gentle she can be. No. Not gentle. Gentle only reminds me of…argh! After she left, I no longer train in the midst of those cherry blossom trees. It only served as a reminder of her. Although I have the power to have the whole thing razed to the ground but somehow, I couldn't bring myself to do it. There is still part of me that wish she'll be there to catch me when I fall. It is usually on the rare occasions that I actually sleep that I miss and dream about her. A dream of an alternate ending. An ending where she didn't leave, where we are together. The dreams are always so vivid that when I wake up, I found myself hoping to see her around and having my heart broken all over again when reality sinks in. That's why I prefer not to sleep. Each time her name was mentioned, my heart hurts and I have the urge to sew up the mouth of whoever is it that mention it. The kiss. Something that I wished never happened. The main reason I never go back to my old training spot. It is also the reason I dislike the full moon and cherry blossoms so much. When the two happen at the same time, it's like reliving the kiss, the leaving and the process of having my heart shattered all over again. The only time I don't dream or think of her is when I'm dead tired from training and knocked out even before my head hit the pillow. That situation only happened once. Even then, she slips in and out of my dreams. As much as I hate to admit it, I still love and miss her. Will I ever be free of her?

* * *

Okay, here's the new version of chap 2. it shld span till like the present ie 100yr later. but i dun have the time to re-watch those epi. so its until 50 yrs fer now. the whole chap is from Soi Fon's pov. its easier for me to write this way. dun hafta keep changing from norm to italics. as usual. pls read and review.feedbacks abt this new version will be nice. i hope i kept Soi Fon in character thruout. it def took alot outta my wrist to type this. nxt chap will be on Yoruichi. in the same style as this i think. i havent start writing it yet. hope u ppl like it better than the first. )

peace,

Shane.mc


	3. How do I live without you

AN: this is the sorta updated version of this chap. I changed a little at the ten yrs part. New chap shld be coming out real son. As soon as I figure out how to open the chap.

* * *

--Yoruichi--

Reaching Kukakuu's house in the western part of Rukongai, I sighed and looked back at gates leading to Seireitei. Even at this distance, I could still feel her reiatsu and the blissfulness that she is feeling which flows so freely now that she is asleep. Her reiatsu wrapped itself around me in a blanket of bliss which I never want to let go, but I have to. Things have gotten out of hand. The Centre of 46 isn't as sharp as before. It is just pure coincidence that Kisuke is going to get exiled, least it gives him a legitimate reason for leaving. There are preparations to be done in the living world. Soon, the world will be plunged into chaos.

I regretted kissing her. I really do. It's definitely the stupidest thing I ever did in my life. Mind you, I am wayyyyyy older than I look. She is better off not knowing how I feel for her. I can't imagine the pain that she'll be going through. It'll be trice the amount, no, more like ten thousand times worse than what she'll go through if I had kept my tongue and lips to myself. That momentary lapse in self-control will put Soi Fon, my sweet innocent bee, through hell. A hell that I don't think she can survive through without damaging herself in the process. I was the world to her. But soon, I'll be the very thing she despise the most.

Squaring my shoulders, I tried to conjure up a happy memory in an attempt to cheer myself up so that Kukakuu and Kisuke wouldn't realize that something's amiss. Yet, the only image I can conjure up is Soi Fon. The way she stammers when she talks to me, how adorable she looks when she blushes, how she blames herself for everything bad that happened to me even when she had obviously nothing to do with it. With each image of her I see in my mind, my heart gets heavier. The urge to just turn and return to Seireitei gets stronger. How am I going to survive the following years without her if I feel as though I would die from the pain I'm experiencing by just thinking of her? The phrase "the pain will fade had better be true" otherwise, I promise pain that wouldn't fade to whoever that said it. Dead or alive.

Okay Yoruichi, stop thinking about Soi Fon. You have more important stuff to do plus you are already late. I put on what seems to me as a pale imitation of my usual trademark grin and shunpoed into the room behind Kisuke, scaring him out of his wits. That sight did get a true laugh out of me.

"Yoruichi, you bitch. You're late. Any later and Kisuke here will leave without you." boomed Kukakuu slapping me on the back.

The three of us knew each other since we were kids and kept in touch constantly even after the Shiba clan had fallen from grace. She had agreed to lend us her place to use as the departure point as Kisuke had created a new and totally untraceable portal to the living world. To think they threw him out for something as small as an untraceable gigai. Of course, there is the whole Hougyoku debacle which I don't understand. The Centre of 46 are really a bunch of old geezers. Yes, even my dad. I think he is some honorary member or something. He is never around anyway.

"No How can you say such things Kukakuu-san I am not that mean now I'm hurt besides, Yoruichi-san here is a woman of her word she is just a little late that's all" said Kisuke, his eyes twinkling under that oversized stripped hat of his.

I still don't like that hat. He bought it at a fair so many years ago that I cant even remember when. He said it helps him think better. Oh well, guess we have got to give him credit for that. Ever since he got that hat, he seems to be inventing more things which the Centre of 46 wouldn't approve of. But, I still think it's just an excuse to ensure that I won't dump his hat into the bin once an opportunity presents itself. Kisuke is a genius, has always been. Seems like they are going to let his vice captain, some Mayuri fella, take over now that he is disgraced. Just because the Centre of 46 is too stick in the mud to accept some of Kisuke's inventions.

"You ready, Yoruichi-san?" asked Urahara without the hint of his usual playfulness.

Seriously, can't he just drop the ti… wait! Did he just asked if I was ready! I don't think I'll ever be. Given what just happened….right now, my goal is just to make it to the living world without breaking down or hyperventilating at the thought of living without Soi Fon in my life. I can do that! Can I? right! I can! I shall stop doubting myself.

"Yep! Let's hit the road." I said stepping in once the portal opens. "Cya, Kukakuu! Stop calling me a bitch! You're the only bitch here! Ha!"

"Keep in touch! And no, to me, you will always be a bitch. I expect to be kept up to date on your activities in the living world. Don't make me shoot you using my cannon" joked Kukakuu.

We turn and began strolling towards the exit at the end of the portal. Kisuke began making small talks telling jokes that I have heard a million times over. My thoughts return to Soi Fon. The occasional nods and burst of laughter was enough to keep Kisuke from noticing that I'm not truly paying attention. Inside the portal, I could not feel her reiatsu at all. I shivered from the lack of the warmth her reiatsu. Noticing this, Kisuke took off his captain haori and draped it around my shoulders and continue with his jokes. Suddenly, there was the sound of a train. That's weird. Don't tell me Kisuke took a shortcut when creating this portal. Oh damn. He did.

"You lazy idiot! See what you have done! Come on! Stop whining and run!" I yelled at him, rapping him on the head before shunpoing to the end.

"Yoruichi-san wait for me! How can you leave lil' old me here to get -…ah!"

Kisuke screamed as I shunpoed back to drag him (literally) to the exit.

Upon exiting, I realized that he had everything set up in the living world. A shop with three mod souls workers specially created by him. On the surface, it is a normal provision store but it also stock shinigami stuff like soul phones and gigais.

"Neat shop you have here Kisuke." I remarked, marveling at how he could get so many things done in such a short time. So this is where the time which he is supposed to create the portal went.

"Yoruichi-san your room is this one" he said in his usual singsong voice, sliding open the shoji with a flourish. "I'll let you rest now 'cause tomorrow we have work to do ja!" was all he said before shoving me into the room and sliding the shoji close.

Left alone, my thoughts turn inevitably to Soi Fon. She'll be in denial at first and then she will grow to hate me. It pains me to leave her. I don't know if I can live without her, much less the fact that she hates me. Looks like I won't be getting any sleep tonight.

0530hrs, that's what the digital clock next to my futon show. I wonder what Soi Fon is doing right now… Have she realize that I left? Is she coping well? Oh god…how am I going to survive the rest of my life if I can't even survive one day?

--10 years later--

It's been ten years since I left with Kisuke. Contrary to popular belief, I never felt anything for Kisuke. Soi Fon, on the other hand, is a different matter. Ten long years. It's 3650 days without her beside me. Without seeing her blush, hearing her stammer and feeling that jolt of excitement when seeing her. I missed her more than words can describe yet, I can't return. I could neither visit her nor communicate with her. If only the captain commander wasn't so blind and stupid, then I could at least visit her. After spending my first night in the living world in Kisuke's shop, I left. It was agreed beforehand that we split up to do our research. Being a princess has its benefits. I manage to get a decent apartment and a black sport car with the money I took before leaving. After all, I'm the sole heir to the Shihouin clan.

Despite what everyone says, time will wash the pain away, the pain remains and the wound is still as fresh as ever. It's been ten years. Never a day pass without me thinking of her, without my heart aching. The pain did decrease in its intensity and remains as a dull ache that's constantly there. 11th of Feb. It's her birthday today. I do not have the mood to get anything done. Feeling very frustrated as I couldn't stop thinking about her, I decided to take my car out for a spin. Cruising at 100mph along the highway, I put the top of my R8 down to feel the wind against my face. My thoughts inevitably turn back to the time when I first taught her how to use shunpo. No. No. I have to stop thinking of her. Shall turn on radio to distract myself. Yes. That's a brilliant idea. With a push of a button, the radio came to life.

"Alright, the next song is Houkiboshi by Younha dedicated by Carmen to the person who lights up her life, Isabel with the message: 'I'll be by your side forever. No matter what happens, we'll face it together. I love you.' How sweet." Said the deejay and the song began playing.

"yozora wo miage hitori houkiboshi wo mita no  
isshun de hajikete ha kiete shimatta kedo  
anata no koto omou to mune ga itaku naru no  
ima sugu aitai yo dakedo sora ha tobetai kara

moshi atashi ga houkiboshi ni nareta naraba  
sora kakenuke tonde iku

donna ashita ga kite mo kono omoi ha tsuyoi  
dakara houkiboshi zutto kowarenai yo…"

Right, that's enough. As soon as the song starts play, my entire mind is filled with the images of her. "When I think of you, my chest begins to hurt." How true. Damn song. I changed the channel in hopes of finding a song that would not remind me of her anymore.

"How do I live without you?" crooned the singer and her soulful voice flooded my car. Okay...like this song is any better than the previous one. God! Now I feel like dying..if that's actually possible. How do I live without you? What a song to listen to especially now that I'm constantly asking myself how did I actually survived for so long without her. Next. Fiddling with the scanner, I finally found a station which isn't playing songs that make me feel like running back to Soul Soiety, back into the arms of a certain someone. Or at least, I thought it wasn't until a rich baritone voice filled the my car.

"Dang ni de lei zai wei xiao zhong hua luo, hui yi de feng chui zhe wo zuo, wo que qing yuan ting liu." Captivated by the voice, I continue listening. A sweet voice soon replaced the baritone. "Dang yi ke xin zuo dao shi jain de jing tou, hu xi ye hui tong. ke shi wo ji de, ni ge wo de meng..." Although I don't really understand the lyrics of the song, the images called up by my mind at the sound of those two voices were powerful enough to render me weak. Literally weak. I reached out to hit the off button while trying to surpress the images of Soi Fon the song had called up and the tidal wave of emotions that threatened to overpower me. This has to be fate. Of ALL days, why TODAY?! There is trash on every station everyday EXCEPT today! God, what a cruel trick you're playing on me. It's as if leaving her was my idea and I feel real good about it. Of all days, you chose today to rub it in. every single channel is playing something that has to do with being unable to live without her. I am barely surviving without her and you have to rub it in and make me miss her more. Unknowingly, I reached the beach. It's almost midnight. "Happy birthday, Soi Fon" I whispered, hoping that on some level in her subconscious she can hear my wishes and feel how much I miss her.

--1 year before the execution of Rukia--

I returned to Kisuke's shop, wasn't exactly surprised that none of the workers remember me as I was in my cat form and truth is I only stayed for a night. Had a long talk with Kisuke about the current situation and was updated on the things on his end. Lying on my futon in my room, I replayed the conversation between me and him.

"Yoruichi-san How have you been? You look stunning as usual" said Kisuke good humoredly

"Gah! Cut the flattery Kisuke. Haha!" I replied whacking him on the head.

After sharing our findings, Kisuke turned to me and asked "Have you thought about what I said? I meant every word of it. It's been so many years and my feelings for you have not changed even once."

"I'm kind of tired. Guess I'll see you in to morning then. Kisuke, you have to know, I found the one person I love more than life, more than freedom. You will always be a brother and a best friend to me." I said, leaving the room.

Soi Fon…if only you know how much I miss you and how much it pains me to live a life away from you. You are the reason behind every breath I draw, how do I live without you?

* * *

okay! sorry for taking sucha long time...tv dramas gt in the way together with a bad case of writer's block. fer those of u who know me personally, the drama did delay this post quite a bit. anw, hope u like this new chap of mine. as usual, pls read and review. all reviews, flames included, are all appreciated.

peace,

shane.mc


	4. Adventures in the Night

--One day before Ichigo and gang crash Soul Society--

"_Argh! Another boring day of paperwork. Stupid Oomadea left his crumbs all over my paperwork and now I have to redo them. As if the workload of a captain is not enough, he has to add to it by making me redo what I have already finished. Wait until I get my hands on him. That little piece of…_" thought Soi Fon as she stretch her soon-to-be crippled right hand and flex her fingers. "_Right, I have enough of this. That lousy excuse for a shinigami shall pay for all the additional work I have to do. Besides, there is something strange going on that I cannot put my finger on. I shall go investigate, besides, it definitely beats sitting here doing this never-ending mountain of paperwork._"

Just as Soi Fon was about to leave her office, a hell butterfly appeared with a message for her to attend an emergency captain meeting. "_Just what does he want this time? There is a captain's meeting yesterday and now he wants to meet again…oh well, duty calls,_" thought Soi Fon as she shunpoed to the meeting's venue.

Upon reaching the headquarters of the first division, she was shocked to see that even the flippant and flamboyant eighth division captain was unusually punctual and serious. "_Whoa! What's up with that?_" she thought to herself giving Shunsui a curt nod, her face was the usual blank canvas.

"Since everyone is here, let us begin. Yesterday I received a petition to spare the life of current death row inmate, Kuchiki Rukia, something that has never happen in the entire history of Soul Society. We, as captains of the Gotei 13, do not, I repeat, do not question the orders and wisdom of the Centre of 46. This petition is hereby declared invalid. You are dismissed," said Yamamoto and the 12 captains filled out of the room.

"_I wonder who signed the petition. Duty is duty. If duty dictates that Kuchiki Rukia dies, then as a captain of the Gotei 13 I shall see to it that she is executed,_" thought Soi Fon as she headed back to her division. Laws are made to be followed.

--The day Ichigo and gang crash Soul Society--

For the entire day, Soi Fon felt uneasy. There is something familiar in the air. A very familiar reiatsu. "_Could it be?!_" Yoruichi's smiling face suddenly pop into Soi Fon's mind. "_No. It can't be…she is long gone. She won't risk coming back. She knows very well that by abandoning me, she no longer has a place in my heart. No, no. I have to stop thinking about her_" Soi Fon thought as she shook her head hard, literally shaking the thoughts of Yoruichi out of her head. "_It must be the full moon two nights ago. Yes. It must be that_" Seeing the full moon two nights ago, the images of Yoruichi came crashing into her head and soon, she was overwhelmed by the thoughts of her former senpai. How badly her heart ached for her former mentor, for her smiles, her smirks, her grins and most of all, her touch. She don't even dare to think about the way she taste fearing that it will increase her pain exponentially; as though it isn't painful enough. The gaping hole in her heart, the hole that she thought had closed up in the past century was ripped open. More specifically, she now felt the presence of the hole acutely. Denial had been her coping mechanism for the past one hundred years, together with hatred and anger. Nevertheless, she decided to do some investigating on her own, just to assure herself that she was, as usual, thinking too much and a certain dark skinned, orchid hair beauty did not return, no matter how much she wish it to be true. Little did she know, her wish came true and a century worth of fury and hate will eventually be let loose in one of the greatest showdown she had ever seen in her life.

--Meanwhile--

Soi Fon is looking for her. She knew it. Yoruichi chuckled inwardly at how much her apprentice had grown in her level of skill over the past century. Soi Fon's reiatsu is almost undetectable. Almost being the key word here as Yoruichi is a master at masking her reiatsu and she can do it better in her cat form. '_Being back sure feels good' _she muses, momentarily losing herself in the bliss that only the presence of Soi Fon's reiatsu can provide as she led Ichigo and company to Kukakuu's house. _'That bitch. She shifted without telling me again. Now I have to go through the hassle of finding her house. Like it's a very difficult job, seeing that she still keep her horrible design of her house. Seriously, where did that bitch get her sense of fashion from? Ugh, I sure hope no one right in the mind would copy it.'_

"There we are. Told you her house was easy to spot" commented Yoruichi as the gang's jaw dropped at the sight of two arms coming out from the ground beside the house hold a banner that reads "Shiba Kukakuu". "Seems like she changed the design of the arms this time" said Yoruichi to no one in particular as the rest of the gang is too busy being horrified at Kukakuu's sense of fashion or the lack of thereof.

As they approached the house, they were greeted by a pair of twins appearing at either arm.

"Halt!" they cried in unison.

"Who are you infidels?" cried one.

"What strange clothes you wear! And I see that one of you is a Shinigami" cried the other.

"Suspicious strangers," they said leaping down from their perch

"I, Koganehiko," said one

"And I, Shiroganehiko" said the other

"Shall never let you pass" said both as they finish their little introductions.

"Be gone" said Konganehiko.

"Or you'll end up dying here" said Shiroganehiko.

Popping out from behind Ichigo, Yoruichi flashed the two the cat version of the middle finger, scaring them half to death.

"YORUICHI-DONO!!" they yelled, eyes going as big as saucers.

Leading them into the house, the two gatekeepers begin to apologize for their previous attitudes.

"It's alright. It's partly my fault for not contacting you beforehand" said Yoruichi. _'Kuukaku will sure have a lot to say about this. Serves her right for not informing me that she moved. I wonder what the kids would say when they see her. Ha! They'll get a shock of their lives. Now, I hope she don't beat me up in front of them. I hate showing my true form like that.'_

After Koganehiko opened the shoji to Kuukaku's hall, Yoruichi walked in, her tail high in the air.

"Yo, long time no see, Yoruichi" greeted Kuukaku jovially but Yoruichi can sense the undercurrent resentment from her neglected friend.

Jaws dropped and cries of 'Kuukaku is a FEMALE!' could be heard.

"No one said she was a male" retorted Yoruichi, amused.

"What's up with these kids?" asked a puzzled Kuukaku, looking at Yoruichi.

"Actually, Kuukaku, I've come today to ask of a favor" said Yoruichi, sitting down.

"You generally do when you come here" Kuukaku replied her old friend.

A moment of silence as the two tried to stare each other down.

"Is it trouble?" asked Kuukaku, without breaking her eye contact with Yoruichi.

"Probably"

"Humph," scoffs Kuukaku, "it's a long time since we talked like that too. Okay, let's hear it. I _love _trouble."

--Ten minutes later--

"Alright. I accept" said Kuukaku, smoking her pipe.

"Really?" asked Yoruichi.

"Yes. If Urahara has a share in this, I couldn't say no even if I wanted too. One thing, I trust you. But that doesn't mean I trust those kids that you're with. Among other things, as insurance, I'm sticking one of my own minions with you. Well, I call him a minion but he is really my own brother" said Kuukaku, standing up and walking towards a closed shoji at the side of the room.

"He is still a useless brat though" she said, pausing in front of the shoji. "Oi, are you ready? I'm going to open this so you better be on your best behavior."

"A pleasure to meet you. I'm Shiba Ganju. Please think of me if you need anything" the shoji open to reveal a burly male kneeling behind it.

Stunned was the only word to describe what Yoruichi felt when she saw Kuukaku's younger brother. Granted that it's been a while since she saw him, but to find out that the guy that Ichigo declared as nemesis is actually Kuukaku's younger brother and that they have to work together, was more than what Yoruichi had expected. _'This is going to be so much fun.'_

As expected, a fight ensued between Ganju and Ichigo once Ganju realized who he was greeting. Watching the fight was fun for both Yoruichi and Kuukaku. Neither wants to break it up as such entertainment was difficult to come by these days. That is, until Ganju broke Kuukaku's pipe in his rush to hurt Ichigo.

"You bastards!" yelled a very pissed off Kuukaku as she gather kidou in her good hand and slammed it into the ground, breaking the fight up.

"What the hell is worng with the two of you?! You start beating each other up the second you meet! That's not safe! You jacked the house up! Don't talk back!" yelled Kuukaku at Ganju.

"Hey, shithead. This is my house. If you've got a problem with the way I do things, then get the hell out" said Kuukaku menacingly holding Ichigo up by his hair.

"I'm v-very sorry" stuttered Ichigo.

"Alright. As long as you understand" said Kuukaku, her demeanor changing from menacing to jovial in a blink of an eye.

--Later that night--

"You sure took your own sweet time huh, Yoruichi. Not keeping in touch for the past century is so like you. Pah! You bitch, whatever happened to your promise to me? Even Kisuke contacted me once in a while."

"What? You moved without even telling me! Now you're blaming me?! Ah! You are the bitch here please."

"Ugh! Change back to your human form. I hate talking to you when you are in this form."

"You know, I still find clothes really restricting" muttered a disgruntled Yoruichi who, at Kukakuu's insistence, wore a sports bra and a long pants. (Yes, that's the most she would go. She thinks it's a hassle to wear clothes in front of Kukakuu as they both knew each other for so long. Okay, more like she couldn't be bothered with clothes.)

"So, now that you're back, what do you plan to do? What are you going to do about her?" asked Kuukaku, turning serious.

"About who?" asked Yoruichi, feigning innocence and twirling her sake bottle in her hands.

"Don't act stupid. You know very well who I'm talking about. After you left, I heard stuff about her. Lots of them. There were talks about something going on between the two of you and frankly, you didn't look right when you left one hundred years ago. She searched the entire Soul Society for you. She even sneaked in here, thinking that I don't know, in the middle of the night just to look for you. Knowing full well that I don't take trespassers lightly."

"What do you want me to do? I'm just going to avoid her at all costs. So you do know something. So like you Kuukaku, just sitting back and watch."

"Well, does Kisuke know? You told him yet? Don't tell me you don't know what he feels for you. This is your mess, I'm not gonna clean it up fer you" said Kuukaku grinning.

"Yeah, he knows. He respects my decision. Actually, knowing Kisuke, he probably figured it out a long time ago. He was just waiting for me to say it, I guess. Kami, what have I gotten myself into?!" groaned Yoruichi with her head in her hands, the empty sake bottle abandoned.

"Enough with such depressing thoughts. You and I, we are going to get drunk tonight whether you like it or not. With you gone for so long, I've got no one to drink with. You better last as long as you did the last time" grinned Kuukaku, tossing five bottles of sake at Yoruichi.

--5 hours before dawn--

'_Stupid bitch, making herself sound so unbeatable yet knocking out after only a few bottles' _thought Yoruichi wryly. _'Okay, make it more than a few bottles' _as she surveyed the room that is now littered with empty bottles of sake. _'Did we drink that much? Why am I still not drunk? Heh! Let's play a game'_ she smiled at the thought of what is likely to happen as she blasted her reiatsu, knowing that no one will notice it except for a certain someone.

--2nd division headquarters--

Soi Fon woke up with a start. She looked at the sky; dawn will not be here for another five hours. Something woke her up. That she know for sure. But what was it that woke her is something she wasn't very interested in finding out at the moment. After a long day of paperwork and a full day of fuming at her incompetent vice captain, Soi Fon wasn't really the greatest person to be around with.

Just as she was preparing to go back to sleep, she felt it again. This time, it was crystal clear. _That reiatsu! So that was what I felt. Damn my body for reacting to the slightest indication of her reiatsu._ Believing that she imagined that second blast, Soi Fon ignored her pounding heart, the tidal wave of emotions that threaten to wash over her and tried to sleep. _'Argh! Stupid brain. Stop thinking about her! Now I'll never get to sleep! Yoruichi! You torture me even though you're not here'_ thought Soi Fon, not realizing that the person she love/hate/despise/wanted very much to defeat was nearby.

--Kuukaku's house--

Yoruichi was having fun, more fun than she had in a hundred years as she blast her reiatsu repeatedly. She was getting a kick out of feeling Soi Fon's reiatsu. She know it wouldn't be long till Soi Fon was pissed enough to investigate the source of her discomfort. "Ah--CHOO!" sneezed Yoruichi. _'Well, I guess she is cursing me again. Not that I don't deserve that'_ thought Yoruichi, her newfound game wasn't as fun as she initially thought it is. _'Oh well, I guess that's—' _she stop in mid thought as she felt Soi Fon's closing in on her. On impulse, instead of changing back to a cat and masking her reiatsu, she lingered long enough for Soi Fon to catch a brief glimpse, brief enough for her to escape far enough but long enough for Soi Fon to know that she wasn't imaging things.

'_That hair! I knew it. It's her. She is back. I will catch you, Shihouin Yoruichi.'_ Soi Fon hardened her resolve to bring down her former mentor, fighting down the twinge and excitement she felt in her heart just by catching a glimpse of Yoruichi after so long.

Increasing her shunpo, she followed Yoruichi, who for some unknown reason was blasting her reiatsu all the way. Soi Fon stopped at a clearing. Yoruichi's reiatsu had disappeared as completely and as suddenly as it had appeared. Soi Fon took in her surroundings. She felt faint. _'This place…it's been so—'_ she stopped in mid thought as a pair of cocoa arms wrapped themselves around her waist, pulling her into a warm embrace.

"Soi Fon" breathes Yoruichi into Soi Fon's ear. Inhaling her scent, Yoruichi realized how much she actually missed her little bee.

Soi Fon froze; her hand paused in the act of wanting to hit the person behind her. She could feel her blood on fire for two different reasons. Her heartbeat sped up and she cursed herself mentally for being so affected just by a hug. She could feel herself melting into Yoruichi's arms, her resolve long forgotten.

Yoruichi turn Soi Fon such that she was facing her. Without giving Soi Fon a chance to talk or protest, she pinned the younger girl against the nearest tree and kissed her long, hard and passionately. The hundred years worth of pent up emotions, of missing Soi Fon all went into that kiss. Though shocked, Soi Fon kiss Yoruichi back instinctively. After what seems to be eternity, Yoruichi raised her hand, harden her heart and knocked Soi Fon unconscious.

Picking her up, she shunpoed back to Soi Fon's quarters. Laying the girl down on her futon, she took long last look at Soi Fon, admiring how much Soi Fon had grown over the past one hundred years. Puberty had been kind to Soi Fon as her body matured just the way Yoruichi wished it would. She stole one last kiss from the unconscious girl and made her way back to Kuukaku's house.

* * *

AN: just a short chap till my muse, who finally moved from the North Pole to like the States, somewhere nearer to me than before but still seriously far away. Another thing is that I hope to stay true to the anime, as true as possible so I can't continue writing till I get my entire bleach collection back from my colleague. Soon! I promise. Sorry for the long wait, hope u ppl out there like this chapter. Pls read and review. All reviews are greatly appreciated, including flames.

Peace,

Shane.mc


	5. Strenghtening of resolves

--2 hours before dawn--

_Kuso. I'm so late! Argh! How could I oversleep?! As the captain and supreme commander, I should be setting an example for the rest of the troops. Unlike a certain someone who always wake up as and when she likes. Dang! _Soi Fon covered her mouth with her hand, out of sheer habit. She did that each time she thought of Yoruichi. _Ahhhh! That sure feels good. _She thought as she finishes up her bath. Her left shoulder was throbbing when she woke up this morning. Dismissing it as fatigue and over-exertion from training, she put on her commander corps uniform and slipped on her captain haori. She was about to leave her room when a lone strand of violet hair lying near the shoji caught her eye. Suddenly, the events that happened last night rushed back into her mind. In her mind eye, she replayed the entire thing from the beginning right up to the part where they kissed. Soi Fon blushed instantly at the thought of the kiss. It was then that she realized she had no idea how she ended up in her room again since she don't remember going back or anything that happened after the kiss for that matter. On impulse, she slipped off her haori low enough and took a good look at her left shoulder. A long purplish bruise could be seen, a bruise that could only be the result of a well delivered chop to render a person unconscious. _Shihouin Yoruichi. You took me for a fool again and again. Now that I know you're here, you shall not escape me. I shall bring you down and show you once and for all that I'm not a person to be taken lightly. You can't keep yanking me around like that. _Soi Fon clenched her fists tightly, so tight that her blunt nails were digging into the flesh of her palm. _Idiot._ She could feel her heartbeat speed up significantly and her cheeks heat up at the thought of the kiss they shared last night.

_Idiot. All she did was hugged you from the back and you totally lost your resolve to defeat her. To bring her down. What the hell is wrong with you? You even let her kiss you! I swear to Kami-sama that you're hopeless. There had better not be a next time. The next time, you'll take her down. Show her that you're not a person to be trifled with. She have to stop yanking you around and come and go as she please, breaking your heart into pieces each time. Didn't you learn from your previous lesson? What are you going to do now? Crawl back to her and let her do what she did to you last night and one hundred years ago again and again and again? Grow a backbone Soi Fon. You lived for the past century without her, took up her old position and cleaned up the mess she left behind. You whipped the SMC, CC and second squad into shape and made them into a force to be reckoned with. Stop pinning for her. That behavior disgusts me. _Soi Fon could hear her conscience berating her, loud and clear. She was sure that everyone in Soul Society could hear her conscience seeing how loudly her conscience was yelling at her.

_Yes. I have to stop pinning for her like an idiot. She no longer has a place in me. Not after what she had done one hundred years ago and last night. I can't believe I let her do that to me. My resolve has to be stronger than before. I never knew how weak it was till last night when I saw her again. Everything just melted away. I cannot let it happen again. Last night was a mistake. Not hitting her was MY mistake. Letting her kiss me is definitely a mistake. Kissing her back is the stupidest thing I could have done. Damn my body. Why do I still react so instinctively to her touch? Not to mention, after so long, she still taste so good. Shit! No! I can't be thinking about that! Ugh! I shall defeat her, if that is the last thing I do._

_That's the spirit. You really have to get a grip. Shut her out of your life, she has done nothing but leave you broken and in pieces. _Went her conscience, slowly but surely poisoning Soi Fon's mind, turning her against Yoruichi (like Soi Fon did not hate Yoruichi enough).

--Meanwhile--

Yoruichi was reliving the kiss. It seems to her that in the light of the day, the kiss is like a dream although she knows very well that that was no dream. The kiss did happen. _I can't believe I kissed her. Again. After so many years, she has grown in more ways than one. Her body definitely matured in the past one hundred years. To think I thought she fitted in my arms perfectly before. Now, she fit better than before, something I thought wasn't possible. God, I missed her so much. If only she can keep calm long enough to hear me out. Or if I can keep my arms, hands and lips to myself long enough to tell her that. After what I did to her last night, she would hate me even more. Ugh! Whatever happened to my promise to Kuukaku of avoiding her at all costs? Hmmmm…let me see, it went out of the window along with my desire to return to the living world at the sight of her standing in the midst of the cherry blossom trees last night. Argh! I'm such a hypocrite. Avoid Soi Fon at all costs. Which part of it implies that it excludes throwing her against a tree, kissing the hell out of her and wrapping her in my arms? None! Ugh…why can't I ever follow my own advice when it comes to her?_

"Mornin' bitch" said Kuukaku groggily. "God, I have this killer of a headache. But man, last night was fun!" said Kuukaku, grinning. "What's up with that face? It's a lil' too early to be putting on that face. Did something happened last night when I konked out? Oh no! Please tell me you did not. Damn it. YORUICHI! Whatever happened to 'I will avoid her at all costs'? Stop screwing that kid around. Unlike me, she won't tell you to fuck off and you know it. I know you feel something for her too, but quit yanking that kid's chain. She ain't your lil puppy you know. Bah! All I did was got drunk and you went out and cause all this shit. I ain't gonna clean this mess up fer ya. If she comes here and make a racket about you, I'm gonna be using your sorry ass to clean my basement. Pah! You really srewed up bad this time, bitch."

"Oh stop your lecturing Kuukaku. It's too early for you to be bitching your ass around. Ichigo and co needs to get into Seireitei as soon as possible. Rukia's life is at stake. Ichigo would bitch if we did not manage to save her. More like he did kill himself but anyway, the point is we have to leave and soon."

"Right, I understand about the whole eager to save Rukia shit that you're spouting but are you sure it's not jus cuz you want me to shut the hell up about Soi Fon?"

"Oh shut up you bitch. Let's get to that damn cannon of yours. Now you can finally fulfill your dream of shooting me with it" said Yoruichi with a grin and a hint of annoyance. _Kuukaku can't seem to stop yapping about how I'm treating Soi Fon. As though I don't feel bad enough. Ugh. That bitch just made me feel worse._

--At the base of the Kakuka cannon--

"Ano, Yoruichi-san. Are you able to form the shield?" asked Ichigo, somewhat innocently, thinking that a cat could never use such a thing.

"Roll it over here and let's try it out shall we?"

Closing her eyes for a few moments, the barrier appear around her.

"Pah! This is almost as easy as breathing to me. Jealous? Are you jealous that I could accomplish it in a blink of an eye while you took hours and hours to do it?" asked Yoruichi, feeling ridiculously proud of herself. The sight of Ichigo on fours on the ground did really boost her pride and it certainly took her mind off Soi Fon and the entering Seireitei debacle in her head.

"Are you ready?" asked Kuukaku loudly, making sure that everyone could hear her clearly. "No stopping from here on out, you brats. Come on, get inside." She opened the entrance to the cannon and taking note of the determined expression each one of them wore.

"Dawn will come soon. That is the signal to start the launch procedure." Kuukaku called out, making sure those inside the cannon could hear her as she get ready for the launch.

--Inside the cannon--

"Okay people, here is the deal. Our aim is to save Rukia and not going around looking for fights. Save Rukia and we haul ass. Under no circumstances do we engage a captain in a battle. Run away as soon as you see them. Pride be damned. Understand?" asked Yoruichi as she looked around, judging by their solemn faces, she knew that they understood her perfectly. _Yeah, avoid captains at all costs. Especially a certain short, petite, beautiful one. I shall do just that._

--Outside the cannon--

Dawn is breaking and the sun could be seen rising, basking the earth in its soft warm rays. _It's time._ Drawing her sword from behind her with her good arm, she plunged it into the base of the cannon along the line she drew around it.

"Beyond. Bronze-colored greed of desires, thirty-six degrees of control!" Kuukaku began chanting

--Inside the cannon--

"It has began. Quick everyone, pour in your reiatsu" shouted Yoruichi and the barrier began to form around them.

--Outside the cannon--

"Seventy-two pairs of illusions. Thirteen pairs of horn flutes." Yanking off the cloth that holds half of her hair in place with her good arm, she wrapped it around with her reiatsu. "The right hand of the money grasps the stars!" with that the cloth caught fire. Slamming it down onto the ground, the entire circle blazed. "Embraced by twenty-five suns, the cradle of sand will spill blood. Kakaku Shahou Niban, KAGIZAKI!" she yelled as the flames raced up the length of the cannon and blasting the cannonball, along with the people inside into the air.

* * *

AN: this chap came to me faster than I thought. Hope you ppl out there like it. It's kinda dry I know. I so totally love the part where Yoruichi asked Ichigo if he was jealous, tts just so childish of her. Hope Soi Fon isn't too out of character in this chap. I kinda made her darker than I initially wanted to. Pls read and review and lemme know what you think of it. all reviews are appreciated including flames. yes, you heard me right. including flames.

Peace,

shane.mc


	6. The Unexpected Treat

Soi Fon came out of the latest captain's meeting feeling confused. More than confusion, she felt anger mixed with a tiny bit of hope and desire. As quickly as she got her hopes up, she stomped them down immediately, leaving nothing but anger remaining in her heart. It wasn't the captain's meeting that troubled her so, but the intel she received just before the meeting. She knew what was going to happen at the meeting even without attending them, afterall, the scouts have to gain her approval on the report they make before submitting them to the Commander General. _That is weird. Five kids and a cat. Four guys, one with orange hair, a dark skinned, one wearing glasses, one with weird clothes and a bandana. Lastly only ONE female with orange hair. They broke into Seireitei using that huge spherical barrier from the sky. But I could swear I saw Yoruichi last night. I have a bruise to prove it. One cat…why would they bring a cat on a rescue mission? _It was the presence of the cat that puzzled her the most. There is something strange about the cat that she can't put her finger on. About the other five brats, as she would label them, they wouldn't stand a chance against her squad for sure. Soi Fon stopped short. Her musings in her head have shut off the rest of her senses and her feet, on autopilot, brought her to the one place that she frequently visit to clear her mind. Her old training spot. It seems as though her subconscious did not register how much her conscious wanted to avoid this place. Two contradicting beings lived in such a small frame called Soi Fon.

Startled that she had made her way here instead of back to her quarters, Soi Fon turned and was about to flee when a though struck her. _Yoruichi. I followed her here last night starting from…argh! Why I can't seem to recall? It was a race, a chase. Starting from….AH! Kuukaku's house. I shall pay that ex noble a little visit._

Using shunpo, she reached Kuukaku's house in no time. Making a short work of the two 'guards', she reached Kuukaku's room to find that the brash ex noble waiting for her.

"I knew you did turn up. Looking for that bitch right? I mean, Yoruichi, right? Don't bother looking for her here. She is gone. This place is as devoid of her as when you searched the last time."

Soi Fon felt a flash of anger when she heard Kuukaku labeling Yoruichi as a bitch but as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared. _She knew?! If she knew, she would have sic the authorities or something on me and I would not be who I am now. _Soi Fon panicked a little inside.

"Yes. I knew. Don't look so surprise. I'm not as dumb as I look. And the reason, if you're wondering, why I never reported you is 'cause I know you're looking for that bitch. Still unwilling to believe that she left. I can't tell you where she is 'cause I ain't know any more about her whereabouts than you. Apparently you know more" said Kuukaku, nodding at the bruise peeking out of the captain's haori. _Dumb bitch. Now she'll hate you more than ever. Of all the intelligent things to do, rendering her unconscious after what-is-it that the two of you were doing is definitely the smartest thing to do. If she wrecks my place, I shall use your ass to clean it up. Like I promised you._

"Since you know no more than I do, I shall take my leave" said Soi Fon surprising the ex noble with a short bow.

--Seireitei--

Yoruichi was running around, keeping her eye on everyone by keeping track of their reiatsu levels. She knew Ishida and Orihime were fine. They work well together in avoiding people. Ichigo and Ganjyu was a totally different matter. Running into a third seat and a fifth seat when they land. You can 't get any unluckier than that. Being the proud person that he is, Ichigo went ahead and engaged Madarame Ikkaku, third seat of the eleventh division, in a fight. While Ganjyu ran from the fifth, Ayasegawa Yumichika.

_!! This reiatsu! Not her again. Kami-sama you sure want me to run into her. _Yoruichi began to run in a random direction. She couldn't care which way she was going as long as it is the opposite of Soi Fon's. After what seems to be a very long time, Yoruichi slowed down and took a good look at her surroundings. _Well I'll be damned. To escape the captain of the second division, I entered the second division. How smart can I get? Goddess of flash. Pft. More like the Blind goddess of flash. Gah! Shit! She is coming. I shouldn't get distracted so easily. Have to keep my guard up and mask my reiatsu completely. _With that in mind, she uses her head and slide open the shoji nearest to her and slipped in.

_This must be fate._ She thought as she heard the shoji open from her corner. Judging by the reiatsu, it seems like Soi Fon wasn't happy with what she found in the room.

"Stupid Oomadea" cursed Soi Fon, "leaving all his crumbs in my weapon store. Who does he think he is? This is MY weapon store. Damn that guy. Fat and obnoxious. All he knows is just to eat. Ugh!" Soi Fon threw her hands up in the air in a manner unlike her. In her corner, Yoruichi watched as Soi Fon moved around grumbling like an old granny instead of the young captain that she is. _Aww. My little bee is still the old soul that she is. Always fussing about tardiness, cleanliness and all that. _Yoruichi was in the middle of her reminiscence when Soi Fon spotted her.

"That oaf. He even let a cat in! When I catch him, he'll have to pay dearly. Even more if I discover that my weapons are scratched in any way especially if it's a katana" Soi Fon grinned evilly to herself as she thought up more ways to torture her useless vice captain. Yoruichi extended one claw and swiped at a katana leaving a long and obvious scratch mark. She really wanted to see what Soi Fon had in mind for her vice captain. Soi Fon walked towards Yoruichi's corner, deciding to start her little round from that corner. As luck will have it, she spotted the scratched katana straight away. "He is so going to pay…" said Soi Fon to no one on particular. Picking the cat up, she walked out of the store. Yoruichi was about to faint. Soi Fon was holding her against her chest. _God. If she ever knew that it is me that she is carrying, I bet she would blush and then she did faint. No, wait. She did have Suzumebachi sting me twice. Right, shall just enjoy the moment. _Yoruichi snuggled closer to Soi Fon, her resolve of avoiding a certain short, petite and beautiful captain forgotten.

Soi Fon felt the cat snuggling closer. She looked at it, suddenly feeling more merciful than normal. The cat did look harmless afterall and cute if she permits herself to use that word. She sighed and decided to bring it with her back to her room, knowing that somehow she'll end up regretting it. Dropping the cat on her futon, she use kidou to bind the shoji to her room close before proceed to undress for her bath.

Yoruichi felt herself dropped and hit something soft. She opened her eyes to take a look at her surroundings only to be greeted by the back view of a very naked Soi Fon. _Those layers she wears every day really did a good job at covering up her figure. _Yoruichi could not help but stare and wished that Soi Fon would turn around so she could get a good view of her front too. _No! it's wrong. This is like I'm a perv. I have got to get out before I lose control and change back to my human form and my reiatsu is nearly spiraling out of my control. If this keeps up and she turns around, I can't suppress my reiatsu and control myself from changing back to human so I can ravish her on the spot. Right. Leave before things get ugly. I.e. leave before she realizes that it's me and tries to kill me. _

Turning around, Yoruichi padded softly to the shoji, in hopes of sliding it open and slipping out quietly. Alas, she never saw Soi Fon using kidou to seal the door. Though there wasn't really a need for her to do that. Her reputation is more than enough to deter people from barging in unannounced and uninvited. _Damn it. It's sealed with kidou. Shit. It's the trick I taught her. Only the two of us knows this and she knows it. If I undo it, she would know it's me. Damn. People always talk about win-win situations. Yet here I am, facing a die-and-die-more-horribly situation. Ugh! Shall go to sleep maybe she'll let me out later. _With that in mind, Yoruichi forced herself to fall asleep a little too early otherwise she did have seen Soi Fon turn around and walk towards her.

Yoruichi was having dirty dreams. It involved her and a very naked Soi Fon and a futon. Well, actually, the venue doesn't really matter to Yoruichi, as long as she can have Soi Fon, location doesn't matter at all. Yoruichi was tossing, turning and arching herself towards some invisible person. Her breathing was labored and it came out in pants at times. Soi Fon watched, puzzled. What kind of dreams would a cat have that is this traumatizing? Thinking that the cat was having a bad dream, she picked it up and held it close to her. This soft and gentle side of her was never shown to anyone save for Yoruichi. Since to her, Yoruichi is as good as dead, no one has seen this side of her before. Instantly, Yoruichi stopped her tossing. More due to meeting resistance than anything else but Soi Fon thought she had done something to help and held her closer than ever before falling into a deep dreamless sleep.

Yoruichi woke up to find her face between the breasts of the one person she have been dreaming about the entire time. Soi Fon's yakuta had come apart in her sleep and she was holding Yoruichi against her naked chest the entire time. Yoruichi's reiatsu flared out of control for a split second. But that was enough to wake Soi Fon who jumped when she felt it. Shaking the sleep out of her head, she concentrated. After a while of not feeling anything, she was sure that she dreamt about feeling Yoruichi's reiatsu again. Yoruichi's heart melted at seeing how beautiful Soi Fon looked when she just woke up, her long indigo hair free from its braids and falling around her shoulders in an elegant way that serves to accentuate her features more, softening them. She chuckled inwardly as she watch Soi Fon rubbed the sleep out of her eyes in a child like manner that only make Yoruichi fall in love with her even more. Despite her hard-ass appearance, Soi Fon was like everyone else and also has days where she wanted to just skip her paperwork to do the things that she wanted to (i.e. train).

Yoruichi watched, captivated as Soi Fon slipped off her yakuta while making her way to the bathroom. She never knew Soi Fon's hair was this long and she looked this good with her hair down. After ten mins, Soi Fon emerged from the bathroom with water dripping from her hair. She squeezed her hair dry and put on her uniform. All Yoruichi could do was to try her best to get a grip on her reiatsu while each image of Soi Fon burned into her brain. Every single movement was graceful and elegant. Little did she know, the way she was admiring Soi Fon now was the exact same way Soi Fon admired her while they were still captain and bodyguard except she had clothes on then while Soi Fon is naked.

Finally, Soi Fon undo the kidou binding the door and Yoruichi dashed out as though her life depended on it, which is true in a way. Knowing how alluring her protégé's body can be naked, she couldn't spend another minute in her presence while masking her reiatsu properly. If she couldn't keep her tongue in her mouth the last time they met, she don't want to know what she'll do the next time she meet her protégé in her human form.

* * *

AN: sorry for the delay folks. I'm currently obsessed over a certain Nishino Tsukasa. Here is the latest chapter. I hope you all like it as much as I like writing it. :) please r&r. tks.

peace,

shane.mc


	7. A Blast From The Past

_Whew! Thank god for the little miracles in life. If Soi Fon had open that shoji a little later…I could probably be dead right now or we could be having a lot of fun. Either way, I'm already at my limit. Any longer and I'll change back to human. That loss of control for a split second actually caused her to wake up! She still reacts instinctively to my reiatsu. Just like in the old days. _

A sudden blast of reiatsu coming from the Shrine of Penitence brought Yoruichi out of her musings.

_That felt like…Ichigo! And the other one... oh no…this is so not happening. Of all the people he can run into, he ran into Zaraki Kenpachi. Run away you idiot! Gah! From where I am, it'll take a while to reach him. Besides, I'm still recovering from that encounter with Soi Fon. Totally in no condition to shunpo all the way there. How I wish I did not really fall asleep. A total waste of my time spent in her arms. Of all times I chose that time to fall into deep sleep. But I have to admit, the dream was…If only it was real. _

_Ah! Finally. Damn I'm…_ the words left her mind there and then at the sight of Ichigo's bleeding and battered body. _Least he fought Kenpachi and survived. Not an easy thing to accomplish to defeat a guy with insane amount of reiatsu. Judging by Kenpachi's reiatsu, he did not fare any better. Probably even worse but he has the Retsu to take care of his wounds. Well, time to get his body out of the way before others come along. _

Yoruichi returned to her human form, carried Ichigo and shunpoed to a cave she and Kisuke discovered while they were out training.

_Not bad, Ichigo. Not bad at all. You're still an idiot for engaging Kenpachi in the fight when you should flee. Looks like Kisuke was right after all. He does have potential, defeating the captain of the eleventh squad all alone in a pure reiatsu combat. Insane amount of reiatsu, meet your match, more insane amount of reiatsu. It would have been a good battle to watch. Kuukaku would have enjoyed watching it as much as I do. Argh! I'm so not cut out for this. Soi Fon is the one that does this for me all the time. I don't even know how to do it properly. Oh well, he just have to deal with it being ugly or bleed to death. Pity I can't call him up and ask him to choose the option he wants. _

Seeing that Ichigo's wound was bandaged up well and proper, Yoruichi transformed back to a cat and left the cave to check on the rest. Satisfied that they are all doing well, she went back for her much needed rest. (She did not get much sleep due to the very interesting dream she had about Soi Fon.)

--Five hours later--

_Ahh!! That sure felt good. I haven't had a good sleep ever since we came here. Soi Fon…no. I have to focus on the task at hand. Hmmm…looks like his wounds are healing alright. Guess all that's left is to wait for him to wake up._

No sooner than she had that thought, Ichigo begin to stir.

"Yoruichi-san?" he asked, puzzled. Taking in his surroundings, he came to a conclusion that he wasn't dead yet.

"Where am I? How did I get here?" questions came tumbling out of his mouth.

"I carried you here of course" said Yoruichi as though it's the most obvious thing that happened.

"What?!" Ichigo could not believe his ears.

A cat being able to talk was something he thought only happens in children cartoons and the likes of it. Seeing it in real life was a shock to him. A cat capable of forming the cannonball was already pushing it. Carrying a male high school student weighing 61 kg is definitely not possible. Not in a million years.

"Ah, I can see that you don't believe me. It is a piece of cake for me if I was to return to my true form. Well then, let me show you" said Yoruichi smugly as she begins to transform.

"Now, you don't really think that your average cat could talk could you? What's with that face? You probably thought I was a male from my voice"

"PUT ON SOME FREAKING CLOTHES DAMN IT!" Ichigo yelled. His face was getting redder by the second as he hid it behind his hands. Yoruichi did have a very appealing figure for someone her age.

"Argh! I still find clothes very restricting" said Yoruichi, her voice muffled as she pulled the turtleneck she swiped from Kuukaku's wardrobe over her head.

"Wha-PUT ON YOUR FREAKING PANTS! DON'T YOU KNOW THAT BOTTOMS SHOULD BE PUT ON FIRST BEFORE THE TOP?!" Ichigo's voice only seem to get louder and the pitch, higher.

"Are you sure you don't want to see anymore of this young firm skin?" tease Yoruichi as she lifted the hem of her turtleneck up a little.

"PUT ON YOUR FREAKING PANTS!" yelled a red-faced Ichigo, covering his face with his hands as though his life depends on it.

"Aww…you may look so mature but you're still so innocent. There, all done. You can stop hiding now."

"So you brought me here by using this to fly?" asked Ichigo after Yoruichi was done telling her tale.

"Yeah. But you still need rest even if your body heals at such a quick rate. Don't-"

Before Yoruichi could even finish what she wanted to say, Ichigo took the cane out of her hand and was out of the entrance.

"Thank you Yoruichi-san" he yelled on his way out. "Fly!"

_Stupid boy. Where does he think he is going with that wound of his? Argh! Now I have to waste time getting him back again. His wound is going to reopen and I have to patch it up again. Why can't he just be a good boy and just shut up and do as he's told for once. Looks like once again, I made it in time. Ah! A familiar face! Byakuya-yago. It's been a while since I last saw him. I wonder if he did change his quick temper. Wow. Not bad. Head of the clan. _

"Chire, Senbonsakura" intoned Byakuya.

His eyes widen as his zanpakutou was prevented from scattering by a long strip of cloth that is wrapped around it. Holding the other end of the cloth is none other than the ex heir to the Shihouin clan, Shihouin Yoruichi.

"It's been a while, Byakuya-yago" said Yoruichi with ease as she landed in between Ichigo and Byakuya.

"You!" said Byakuya, eyes widening. Dislike and astonishment was evident in his eyes. "After disappearing for a hundred years, I thought you're long dead."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm still well and alive at the moment" said Yoruichi as she dart forward and slammed the medicine into Ichigo's body as he opened his mouth to speak.

"How crude. Slamming the medicine into his body like that. A hundred years and your methods are still as crude" said Byakuya with a hint of disgust as he lunged towards Yoruichi.

Shunpo-ing away, Yoruichi look over her shoulder, shocked was evident when she saw Byakuya there.

"You think you can avoid me with such sluggish shunpo?" he asked as he slashed at her.

"Wha-?!" he gasped as a piece of Yoruichi's orange jacket floated down in front of him and she landed on his outstretched arm.

"You think you can catch me with such sluggish shunpo? Shunshin Yoruichi is far from being caught by the likes of you" she said, grinning darkly.

Shunpo-ing to the roof of the nearest building in the direction of the cave, she said "As selfish as it is, we must take our leave from the battle from now. Three days. Give me three days and I'll make this boy stronger than you. Till then, Byakuya-yago" and she shunpoed away carrying Ichigo with her.

"Phew, I really must be getting rusty. Just using shunpo for a hundred or two times and I'm all winded." Yoruichi said to herself. _All those years in the real world did me no good at all. It's even affecting my shunpo. Gah! Ichigo sure is heavy._

Shifting his weight a little, she continued her journey the huge training ground, which Kisuke made when they were younger, where she promptly fell asleep after re-bandaging Ichigo's wound.

--Second Division Headquarters--

"Eh?! Taichou! It wasn't me! I swear. I did not even go into the weapons store!!" tell Oomadea as he ran away from Soi Fon.

"They are at it again. You did think that the fukkutaichou would realize that the crumbs he drop everywhere would give him away. Lying to taichou like that, what a disgrace to our squad..." commented Mizumoto to Takada as they watched Soi Fon chase Oomadea.

"Yeah. I heard that of all things, he let taichou's katana got scratched. One long, prominent scratch down the centre. A katana. God, doesn't he know how much taichou values katanas, especially that one. It was said to be a very special katana of hers. Her very first katana, given to her by her taichou. No wonder taichou values it so much. Oh well, the fukutaichou never learns does he?"

"If he does, then he won't be him you see." said Mizumoto dryly.

"Hey look, it's about to get good. I wonder why taichou isn't using shunpo to chase him?"

"Use your head Takada, if taichou uses shunpo, it'll be over in a blink of an eye. Literally. She is so fast. Even without using shunpo, you can see that she is obviously giving him leeway. Fukkutaichou did be dead by now if it wasn't for the clause of killing only with a good reason. Who made him fukkutaichou in the first place? That person is definitely blind."

"Oh! They stopped. Looks like taichou is offering him a way out" said Takada excitedly.

Soi Fon walked up to her vice captain, not at all out of breath despite all the running she did.

"Look, Oomadea. I've decided to give you a way out."

"Oh, taichou. You really are merciful. What is it?" asked Oomadea, relief evident in his voice.

"If you can win me in unarmed combat, I'll not only let you off for eating in the weapons store and getting my katana scratched, I'll even get someone to do your paperwork for the entire month. However, if you lose" Soi Fon let loose a little of her reiatsu mixed with the signature killer intent of hers "you will gladly accept any punishment I meet out to you. You won't be killed. Definitely. I will not go against the laws of Soul Society. So how about it?"

_It seems like this is the only option left. But taichou is famed for her skill in unarmed combat. That said, it's been years since taichou actually fights. Most people just run when they see her. I might just be able to win. A whole month without paperwork! Yes! Freedom, here I come!_ A smile spread across his face as Oomadea envision Soi Fon slaving over mountains of paperwork while he is sitting t his desk with his feet up.

_That idiot. He thinks he can win. Oh! Right. Why not? I shall do just that…_a grin spread over her face as she planned her fight with her vice captain.

* * *

AN: here's a new chap once again. it's faster this time cuz i decided to grab the opening and write it out as soon as it appears in my head. unlike the prev one, i totally lost the opening. learned from my mistake. anw, a rather dry chap this time. as usual, pls r&r. most imptly, i hope you ppl like it.

p.s. mizumoto is a senior member of the second squad while takada is the new kid on the block. Hence the qns he asks are kinda self explanatory.

shane.mc


	8. If You Hurt Her

--Meanwhile--

"Ichigo, do you know that there are two stages to the release of your zanpakutou?" asked Yoruichi.

The blank look on Ichigo's face provided all the answer she needed.

"It's like this. There are two stages, shikai and bankai. To put it simply, the stage of release of yours now is shikai and the power of bankai is at least five times that of the shikai. To qualify for captaincy, there are three methods, one: to achieve bankai, two: defeat the current captain in a one on one combat in front of two hundred squad members and lastly, get recommended by three captains and gain the approval of the rest. However, attaining bankai is not as easy as it sounds. It takes years and years of communicating with your zanpakutou and training to achieve. There are many who have failed even after tens of years."

"Demo Yoruichi-san, I don't have that long. Rukia's…"

"I know, that's why I'm here to help you achieve bankai in three days."

"Three days?!"

"Yes, three days. No stop wasting time. Every second waste is a second closer to Rukia's execution" said Yoruichi dragging out a life size manique with a long deep gash in the centre. "You will forcefully materialize your zanpakutou with this. However, the maximum amount of time your zanpakutou can stay materialized is one day. You have to defeat him to achieve bankai. Let's get started."

With that said, Ichigo stuck his zanpakutou into the gash and Zangetsu materialized. Thus, the training began as both drew swords that appear all over the place.

"Remember Ichigo, out of the hundreds of swords, one of them is me and only that can defeat me and aid you in achieving bankai" said Zngetsu.

Suddenly, Yoruichi felt a blast of very familiar reiatsu, with its trademark killer intent forcefully suppressed. _Soi Fon, what are you up to this time? Oh!! She must have found her vice captain. This is a show not to be missed. _Yoruichi took off in the direction of the reiatsu blast after changing into her cat form. _That katana I scratched, it looks really familiar._ It suddenly hit her. _That was the one I gave her. Damn! What the hell was I thinking about. No wonder she is so furious and the sadness that permeated her reiatsu isn't my imagination after all. Oh my god, what have I done. _Slowing down her run, she scanned the area for a place to conceal herself while getting a great view of the match. _Ah! That bush shall do. hmmm… I wonder what Soi Fon is telling that guy…who is he anyway?_

"Seems like taichou is giving fukkutaichou a way out" commented one of the squad members.

_That's the vice captain?! Who the hell made him one? That person has to be blind ten thousand times over. What's so good about him? No wonder little bee seemed so pissed when she realized he have been trampling around in her weapon store. Ah…this killer intent never changes. Oh!! That grin…That fat guy is in for it. Heh! This is gonna be fun! _

Yoruichi watched as the two of them take their place across each other in the square and the rest of the second squad formed a ring around them. Giving the other a short bow, the two got into their preferred fighting stance.

_Oh my god! Hakuda! Stupid fat guy. There is no way my little bee can lose to you. She trained under me for crying out loud. The look on his face pisses me off. He __thinks he can win. _

"Begin!" said the third seat as he officially starts the fight.

Oomadea dived head first into the fight, believing firmly that the first one to strike gets the advantage. He rushed towards Soi Fon in an attempt to punch her. Soi Fon sidestepped to avoid the attack but wasn't quick enough to dodge the blow fully and it crashed into her side. "Oof!" said Soi as she felt the wind knocked out of her. She saw Oomadea's grin widened as he felt his punch landed on her. She knew he is ecstatic now that he knows he can actually land a hit on her. That's exactly the way Soi Fon wanted him to think. _Damn, he does pack a rather mean punch. Never mind, he is at where I want him to be. It won't be long for the pieces to fall into place. _Soi Fon slowed her attack speed drastically and to Oomadea it looks like his taichou was getting old and rusty for her movements is slow enough to be parried. He allowed her to land a few hits on him and was surprised at how soft her hits had gotten over the years. _That's what having no one to spar with for half a century can do to you I guess. Taichou, you're going down and I will be free from paperwork for the entire month. This match's victor will be me. _

_What is she doing? _Thought Yoruichi, as each hit Soi Fon took resonated in her heart. _Don't you know, it pains me each time you get hit? _She knew she can't step in and all she could do was watch from the sidelines as the one she love is dealt blow after blow by a guy twice her size and at least ten times her weight.

Judging by the look on his face, Soi Fon knew exactly what's running through her vice captain's mind. After all, it doesn't take a genius to figure out what he's feeling. _Now, _she thought, _would be a good time to teach that prick a lesson for eating in my weapon store and getting my katana scratched. The only thing I have owned given to me by Yoruichi-sama. No wait! No more Yoruichi. I have to stop thinking of her. Damn!_

Channeling her frustration with herself into the fight, she sidestepped Oomadea's attack completely. The confusion on his face was priceless. She knew he was getting complacent, that he thought the victor was going to be him. This is exactly why she chose this time to drop the I'm-getting-rusty act and strike back. Using his momentum against him, Soi Fon pulled her fist back and punched Oomadea in the face resulting in the increase in damage dealt. Oomadea flew backwards; his mind was in a daze. _Taichou was putting up an act all this while? _Soi Fon shunpoed directly behind him and launched a series of kicks into his back, changing the course of his flight. Each kick was more forceful that the last. Suddenly, Oomadea found himself so high that he can see the entire Seireitei. He would have been able to appreciate the scenery if it was for the intense pain in his back and the thought of how much it would hurt to land. Knowing Soi Fon, she would make sure he land on concrete instead of grass. He was about to close his eyes and brace himself for the fall down when a cat appear in front of him. "You will pay for every punch you landed on Soi Fon just now" said Yoruichi menacingly as she proceed to use the cat's version of her fists of fury. Deep gashes ran down Oomadea's face and his sides when Yoruichi was done with him. Remembering what Urahara had said about the relation between the increase in height and the exponential increase in impact when an object falls to the ground, she boosted Oomadea a few more meters into the air with the help of reiatsu to ensure that he would land with a greater bang than before. As Oomadea was falling, she shunpoed next to his ear and whispered "If you dare to do anything to sabotage Soi Fon, remember, I'm always around and I'll make sure you suffer a fate worse than death by paying you back what you did to her tenfold."

Soi Fon smirked as she watched her incompetent vice-captain crash into the floor at her feet. She bends down and took a good look at him. His face was more damaged than before. The wounds look as though they came from a cat, deep gashes in his face and sides, blood was pouring out of them. _Looks like whoever that did that knew the human anatomy well, all the major arteries were slashed. They are not deep enough to be fatal but deep enough to cause a great deal of pain. _"Get him to the fourth division quick and tell him to report to me when he wakes up. His punishment would be decided then."

--Back at Soi Fon's quarters--

_Ouch! That hurts. _She took a good look at the sides and abdomen.Large purplish bruises covered most of said parts. _Damn, he really did try to pay me back to hitting him so many times and for all the paperwork I gave him. He really is dumb enough to believe that he can win m-- _Soi Fon faint before completing her thought. Her head would have landed on the floor giving her a concussion if it wasn't for a pair of cocoa arms catching her before her head meets the floor.

"Tsk, you really went all out on him didn't you little bee? Look at you, already torn up from training and taking all those hits. When will you ever learn that you're not a super shinigami and you also need your rest? Do you even know how much it hurts me to see you so beaten up? Of course you don't. You are still busy hating me" said Yoruichi softly as she undressed Soi Fon to treat her wounds. Her heart ached at the sight of the bruises covering her abdomen and sides. After she treated the bruises, she laid her protégé down on the futon gently, capturing her lips in a soft lingering kiss before returning to train Ichigo.

--Five hours later--

Soi Fon was sure that she never hit the floor after her faint. The lack of bruise on her head proves her point. But what she cannot figure out is why she is in fresh clothes, all tucked up in her futon and her wounds treated. In her haze she could swear she felt someone catching her, lowering her gently onto the futon as though she was the most precious thing on earth. She heard a voice, familiar and soft, telling her how much it hurt to see her so beaten up. She fingered her lips. Was the kiss real? Did it actually take place? _Who could it be? _Yoruichi's face popped into her head. _No, it can't be her. She has long gone. After that night, I never see her again or even feel her reiatsu. It has to be a dream. To think that the stupid dream of having Yoruichi there to catch me when I fall still existed. Time to go meet Oomadea and give him the punishment he deserves – doing my share of paperwork for the entire month and cleaning the toilets in Soul Society. That would be nice lesson to teach that rich prick that money is not everything. If he tries to bribe people into doing them for him, I'll triple it. _With that thought in mind, Soi Fon made her way to the Fourth division to pay her vice-captain a little visit.

--Back at the training room--

"Yoruichi-san, where were you just now?" asked Ichigo as he parried an attack.

"I got a little something to take care of for a while. Concentrate."

"Eh?! Where did the old man go?" asked a puzzled Ichigo.

"One day is already over. He went back" said Yoruichi, a smile spread across her face as she felt glee and satisfaction in Soi Fon's reiatsu. She can only imagine what her little bee is telling her vice-captain. Judging by his reiatsu, it's definitely nothing good. _That's my little bee._

"What are smiling for?" asked Ichigo, getting more puzzled by Yoruichi's behavior by the second.

Yoruichi did not answer him, but instead showed him the springs and told him to wash up.

* * *

AN: I kinda suck at writing fight scenes so pls bear with the lousy descriptions of the fight. Pls r&r. I hope you all like this. :)

shane.mc


	9. The Execution

If there is one thing Soi Fon dislike more than Yoruichi, it would be being kept in the dark. Judging from her past, it would not be hard to see why. The one person she did die for left her for reasons which she did not know till now. As the Yoruichi successor, she knew the intricate workings of Soul Society and most importantly its weaknesses. Yet, there are three things bothering her right now. One, the impending execution of death row inmate Kuchiki Rukia. Two, the appearance of the black cat that accompanied the ryokas when they invaded Soul Society and the fact that the black cat hasn't been sighted since then. Three, Yoruichi. Singularly the most irritating person Soi Fon ever knew. She hated the way her body reacted at the merest inclination of Yoruichi's reiatsu. She hated the way she still loses her ability to breathe and focus when Yoruichi is around. She hated the way her heartbeat speed up each time she think of her. She hated the yawning hole in her heart that aches every single minute. Meditation, a continued or extended thought, reflection, contemplation. She heard that it was a good way of clearing her head. Settling down on the grass with her legs crossed, Soi Fon was just about to begin her meditation when a hell butterfly appeared.

"Please note that the execution of death row inmate Kuchiki Rukia has been moved up to noon today." With that the hell butterfly left. Looking at the sky, Soi Fon decided to skip her meditation and return to the squad building. It wouldn't look good if she appeared without her vice-captain. It is an unwritten rule that captains and vice-captains appear together at events which required both their presence. _No doubt Oomadea is going to be ecstatic at a legit reason to skip paperwork for a while. Maybe I should double whatever he skipped today, since he still has two months remaining of his three month stint of doing my paperwork...ha! It's so totally worth it to see his anxiety level go way out of the charts each time I check his work. Doubling his paperwork would mean doubling my fun. Hmmm… Oh why not. I shall so just that and let him know only after the execution. Heh. This is going to be fun._

She stood in front of her desk, tapping her foot impatiently. _That oaf is Late! How many times do I have to tell him to be on time?! Argh! Killing him seems so appealing now. If only the rules do not state explicitly that he can't be killed unless it is a very serious offence. Let's see… What can I do to punish him for making me wait…? _Just as Soi Fon was about to indulge in her little daydream of torturing her incompetent vice-captain, the said person burst through the door, out of breath.

"Gomen taichou. I was i-"

"Save it. We're late. Let's get going." With that she walked out of her office with Oomadea trailing behind.

After five minutes of walking, Oomadea was getting hungry. Pulling out a bag of chips, he opened them and began munching.

"What a pain, what a pain" Oomadea said between munches. He seems to have forgotten the fact that his taichou was still pissed off at him for turning up late. The crumbs that he dropped on her head continuously were not helping either.

"Just the case with the ryokas sneaking in is trouble enough. Munch. Now there are people debating whether or not the death sentence is right or not. They are idiots, don't you agree taichou?" he asked in that loud, obnoxious, know-it-all voice of his while the crumbs rained down on Soi Fon.

She silently cursed her petite size and her short stature in her head. _That idiot! Who does he think he is to rain his damn crumbs down on me!? If given a chance, I'll not hesitate to kill this oaf. _"It's pointless" she said emotionlessly, not betraying what is going on in her head.

"Eh?!"

"I'm not interested in what is right and what is wrong. All I have is my duty as a captain of the Gotei 13. Kill the enemy. That is all." Repeating what have been drilled into her head since she was young.

"Eh?" he extended his index finger and was about to dig his nose when Soi Fon's voice stopped him.

"It applies to you too. Don't be careless about your current position. Don't forget. If you get in my way, you'll become my enemy." She said ending with her famous glare that promises pain to anyone who gets in her way. _How I wish you'll revolt. Then I can end your life and my misery once and for all. _She continued walking, without waiting for him to catch up.

"Yeah. You made that very clear." His vein was throbbing. People from the second squad, with the exception of their vice-captain, rarely show fear. Yet this time, he managed to keep his face straight while his insides are churning. Bringing another piece of chip to his mouth, he chewed on it in an attempt to calm his nervous insides. He hated it when Soi Fon threatened him.

--Meanwhile--

"Well, I'm going" said Renji, after tying up his hair. He had followed ichigo's reiatsu to the training cave and found Yoruichi training him to achieve bankai.

"Yeah" was all Ichigo said as he kept his eyes trained on Zangetsu.

"Hey Yoruichi-san, is he… really okay? There is no time left. Can he really achieve bankai by today?" he asked stopping next to her on his way out.

"Here I come, Ichigo. Doesn't mean that I'll go easy on you just because you're weakening" said Zangetsu.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm not planning on taking it easy on you too" smirked Ichigo.

"Renji" Yoruichi called out, after watching the exchange.

"Do you remember the first time you stood up on your own?"

"What? Of course I don't remember" replied Renji, puzzled.

"The fact that you don't remember means you weren't conscious of it. Then why did you stand up?"

"Huh?" Renji was looking more puzzled by the second.

"People are born with the knowledge of how to stand up. Birds all know how to fly. Fishes all know how to swim. That's instinct. Because they know that it's instinct, people try to be even better. That's what I'm trying to make him remember. He probably knows it deep inside. That he possesses that kind of power. That's why I believe in him; that he can master the bankai."

--Noon--

"We shall begin the ritual" said Yamamoto.

Rukia looked upon the weapon that will soon carry out her sentence, she was still shaken from her encounter with Ichimaru on the bridge.

"Not many people are here" commented Soi Fon.

"Eh?" Oomadea answered distractedly.

"The only divisions with both captains and vice-captains are Yamamoto soutaichou, us the second division, Kyoraku's eighth division. The fifth, eleventh and twelfth divisions are understandable. But I wonder what the others are doing. Even Unohana of the fourth division isn't here." Soi Fon eyes widened when she saw the new arrival. _Kuchiki Byakuya. He really came to watch._

Rukia gasped when she saw Byakuya taking his place among the other captains. "N-nii-sama" she whispered. After maintaining her eye contact for a few seconds, Byakuya looked away, shutting off all the emotions he felt within him.

"Kuchiki Rukia" said Yamamoto in that gravel voice of his. "Do you have any last words you would wish to say?"

She closed her eyes and thought about it.

"Yes… just one thing."

"Very well. As per your request, we will send the ryokas home unharmed after your execution."

"Arigatou gozaimas" relief was evident on her face.

"How cruel. He doesn't have the slightest intention of leaving them alive" said Isane to herself.

"It's not cruel at all, Isane" her usually soft spoken captain replied. "It's mercy."

"Unohana taichou. Where have you been all this while?"

"If the end is unavoidable, at least to leave with a little less doubt…to at least leave, a little more peacefully"

Every pair of eyes watched, as the group of executioners charged with releasing of the seal filed past and took their places.

"Release the Soukyoku!" commanded Yamamoto.

At his command, the executioners began pouring in their reiatsu to break the seal, releasing the Soukyoku from its bonds.

Rukia watched as the Soukyoku was released, her mind recalling the earlier meeting with Ichimaru Gin. _Even though Ichimaru troubled my heart at the moment, bit by bit, the calm has returned. Because of the Captain General's promise? Or is it because when nii-sama saw me disturbed, shamefully clinging onto life and shut me out without hesitation? _

All those present watched on, some with their eyes closed and some with their heads bowed.

"Thank you very much, nii-sama" she whispered.

The execution has begun. The bonds tying her hands together broke free as three blocks rose out of the platform she was standing on. Her arms flew out and was perpendicular to her body. Two of the blocks went to her hands while one stayed at her feet as though there was some force of attraction holding them there. Slowly, the blocks lifted her up the Soukyoku's Cross.

"Nanao-chan" said Kyoraku, "don't look so upset. You'll make me sad too."

"I'm not making this face because I'm… upset."

At the top of the cross, Rukia looked out. She could see the whole Soul Society from where she is. Her mind went back to the first time she met Ichigo.

Flames erupted from the Soukyoku, shocking those who have never seen an execution before.

"Wh-What?!" said Oomadea, shocked and scared at the same time.

"This form is--" Soi Fon said to herself as she reminiscence the past.

Nanao stared at it, a mixture of emotions rushed through her. She couldn't bear to think what it must feel to have the Soukyoku piercing her.

"That's a surprise…"commented Kyoraku, as he lifted his hat to watch.

The Soukyoku has taken the form of a large flaming bird.

"This is the true form of the Soukyoku and the final enforcer of the death penalty. When he pierces the criminal, the death penalty is over" said Yamamoto.

_I am not afraid. I have led a good life. _She thought of the past and all the events that led up to this moment where she is going to be executed. _Meeting Renji and the others… Taken in by nii-sama… Led by Kaien-dono… and… being saved by Ichigo. I am not in pain. I am not sad. I have no regrets and my heart… is not burdened. Arigatou._ She silently thanked each of them. _ Arigatou. _Their faces flashed before her._ Arigatou._ She thought of Ichigo. _ Goodbye._ She watched as the bird reared its head and took a few steps backwards. She closed her eyes and embraced her fate, knowing her life will be over soon. She felt the intense heat and the rush of wind as the bird charged at her. Yet, after a while, it seems like nothing has happened. _Is this death? _She opened her eyes cautiously. Her eyes immediately widened at the sight of a tall body, wearing a cloak standing in front of her blocking the Soukyoku with his sword.

"Hey" he said.

"I-Ichigo!"

They stared at each other.

"You idiot! What did you come back?!" she yelled at him.

"EH?!" he eyes widened at the rebuke, momentarily at loss for words.

"You _must _understand by now. You can't defeat nii-sama! You will be killed! I've already resigned myself! I don't need saving! GO AWAY!" she yelled, desperate for him to understand and for him to be safe.

"I-impossibe! He stopped it?! Soukyoku has the destructive powers that of a million zanpakutou and he stopped it with a single zanpakutou. What _is _he?!" said Soi Fon, a mixture of a rare look of shock and her usual anger took over her face.

Shock was evident on the faces of everyone else. Gasps could be heard. The ones only that was mildly surprised was Yamamoto and Byakuya, who was sporting his usual mask of calm.

"Nanao-chan, is that the boy that ryoka was talking about?" asked Kyoraku.

"Hai. His appearance matches the description of the other squad members too."

"So it turns out that they are the ones who made it in time."

The Soukyoku gave a loud cry and reared its head, causing Ichigo to lose his balance.

"Ichigo!" Rukia screamed.

Balancing himself, Ichigo readied to block the next attack as the Soukyoku took a few steps backwards.

"So he's taking another step back for another attack? Alright, bring it on."

"Don't, Ichigo. Stop it. You can't stop the Soukyoku twice. The next time you'll turn into dust too!" she implored, hoping that he will stop this foolishness and save himself.

"Ichigo!" she yelled as he took off, charging at the Soukyoku.

Just as they are about to collide, a long rope came from out of nowhere and wrapped itself around the Soukyoku's neck. Ichigo stopped, surprised. The metal pole at the end of the rope was embedded into the ground from the force of the throw.

"Ukitake taichou?!" cried a surprised Isane. "And Kiyone?!"

"Hey, Casanova. You sure like to make people wait, don't you?" said Kyoraku as he landed behind the pole with Nanao at his side.

"Kyoraku taichou?!" cried Isane.

Yamamoto turned around to face them.

"Sorry, the release took a while longer than I expected. But now we are good to go!" Ukitake said swinging the shield he carried with him and planting it on the ground.

Soi Fon's eyes widened when she saw the seal on the shield. _That's…the Shihouin clan seal!_ "Stop them!" she yelled at her vice-captain.

"Eh!?" Oomadea looked shocked and fearful. Kyoraku and Ukitake have been captains since anyone can remember. He don't really want to go up against them. They are captains for such a long time for a reason, even though he never actually seen them in combat.

"They are going to destroy the Soukyoku!"

"Who?! Me?!"

Before any of the captains present could take action, Ukitake and Kyoraku unsheathed their zanpakutou and stuck them into the lines along the shield. Pouring their reiatsu in, the rest watched as the reiatsu traveled the length of the rope to the Soukyoku and ultimately destroying it, leaving behind a shower of flares which the people below tried to avoid.

"I'm not sure what that was, but since that is done, then I shall..." Ichigo back-flipped and landed on top of the Soukyoku Cross. His eyes glowed blue.

"What are you doing, Ichigo?!" Rukia called up to him.

"Isn't it obvious?" he asked, as he began swinging his sword. "I'm gonna smash this scaffold."

"Don't! That's reckless! Listen to me, the cross of the Soukyoku is…"

"Don't worry. Just shut up and watch."

"Ichi..go"

Rukia watched fearfully as he stuck his sword into the cross. Moments later, the entire cross began to glow blue as Ichigo poured his reiatsu into it. A huge explosion was heard as his reiatsu overpowered the cross's, breaking the cross into two.

"You freakin' talk too much with your "don't save me" and "go away". I thought I told you, all your opinions are rejected. This is the second time. And _this_ time, I'm here to save you, Rukia."

Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears and happiness.

"I'm not going to thank you, you fool" she cried with her eyes closed and tears leaking out. She couldn't tell him how much it meant to her that he was there to save her or how much he meant to her.

Ichigo surveyed the area, a small smile graced his lips when he heard what she said, knowing very well that she don't mean it. "Yea…"

"T-The Soukyoku's… cross…" stuttered Isane, wide-eyed.

Ukitake gasped at the now broken cross. Ichigo's stunt finally elicit a reaction from Yamamoto, who opened one eye fully to take in the damage dealt to the cross. Everyone else watched, Soi Fon kept her shock to herself, showing only her usual mask of calm.

"Wh-what the hell is he?!" Oomadea asked, his eyebrows twitching. _Kami-sama, this guy might be even more terrifying than taichou._

"Ichigo, I have to ask. What do you intend to do now? There is no clever way of disappearing in front of all these people here."

"Huh? I'll run." He said, looking bored.

"Impossible!" She turned and faced him wide eyed. "They are all captain class; there is no way you can escape."

"Then I'll beat them and escape." He countered, feeling irritated. "It's not just you. Inoue, Ishida and even Chad are here. Ganju and Hanataro. I'm gonna save all the people who help and take them with me."

_From his eyes and his words, it seems like Ichigo's strength is flowing into me. You've become strong haven't you, Ichigo. _

A loud commotion broke her train of thoughts.

"Finally came, Renji?"

A very injured and out of breath Renji had appeared.

"Renji!" Rukia screamed.

He looked up to see Rukia in Ichigo's arm. "Rukia!"

"I'm so glad! You're alive! Renji!" she yelled.

"I knew you would come" said Ichigo.

"Damn right. If I didn't, who would save Rukia?"

Ichigo smiled and Rukia felt herself lifted up by one hand.

"Huh?" both Rukia and Renji were equally puzzled.

"Oi Ichigo! What are you doing, damn it!" As he pulled her backwards.

A dark look crossed Renji's face as he get an idea of what Ichigo is trying to do.

"Wait a minute, you're not gonna…"

"CATCH!!" he yelled as he flung Rukia towards Renji.

"YOU CRAZY IDIOT!!" screamed Renji as he move to catch a screaming Rukia.

The impact threw both of them back a couple of meters with Renji cushioning Rukia's fall.

"You idiot! Ichigo! Lunatic!" Rukia sat up and screamed at him.

"What if I had dropped her, you ass!" asked a furious Renji.

"Get her out. What are you doing there so dazed. Get her out. That is your job. Don't let her go even if it kills you."

Without a word, Renji picked a protesting Rukia up and began running to the exit.

Everyone watched, stunned as the vice-captain of the sixth squad ran off with Rukia in his arms.

"What are you standing there for, you imbeciles!" yelled an enraged Soi Fon. "Follow them, all you vice-captains."

With a nod from their respective captains, the vice-captains from the first, second and fourth squad began their chase. Seeing that they are about to catch up, Ichigo shunpoed in front of them, startling them with his speed. He stuck his zanpakutou into the ground while the vice-captains begun releasing theirs. As soon as they are done releasing, he dashed forward and punched Oomadea in the guts, smashing his zanpakutou into bits along the way. Sasakibe Choujiro and Koutestu Isane watched, stunned as they register his speed and strength. Turning around, he avoid Choujiro's attack and delivered an uppercut of his own, throwing the first vice-captain a few meters backwards, rendering him unconscious.

_It can't be, without even using his zanpakutou…_before she could complete that thought, Ichigo appeared in front of her, landing a punch to her stomach. Byakuya dashed forward, drawing his sword as he run. He was about to land a blow when he realized that it was blocked by Ichigo's blade.

"I told you I can see you, Kuchiki Byakuya."

"Why…" asked Byakuya monotonously. "Why do you… repeatedly try to save Rukia?"

"Let _me _ask_ you…_aren't you Rukia's brother? Why don't _you_ save her?!"

"Absurd question. Even if the likes of you know the reason, by no means could you understand. It seems further talk would be fruitless. Let's go" with that, he released his reiatsu.

With a loud cry, Ichigo blocked Byakuya's blade and swung it to the ground. Their battle which began on that bridge will finally be concluded.

Kiyone watched as Byakuya engaged Ichigo in a battle to the death. She eyed her sister lying on the floor. Concern won and she rushed to her sister.

"Nee-san!!" she yelled, running towards Isane.

"Wait, Kiyone-" Sentarou yelled. He stopped short upon feeling Soi Fon's killer intent and the next thing he knew, he flying through the air.

Kiyone stopped and turned around to see Soi Fon appearing before her. Her storm grey eyes emotionless as she stared at Kiyone while Sentarou fall back to earth. Soi Fon's eyes narrowed.

"Wait, Soi Fon!" yelled Ukitake as he ran towards Kiyone, only to be stopped by a cane. He stopped, shocked. Soi Fon turn back, her face was as expressionless as before. Kiyone watched her beloved taichou getting stopped by the captain general.

"Don't move" said Yamamoto.

"Genryuusai-dono"

"The one who took the criminal away was a vice-captain. If we kill him and replace him, a substitution would suffice. We will capture him at our leisure later. However. You two are the ones I cannot forgive. You two have done what a captain must never do. I know you are not at all ignorant of what that means."

"Ukitake taichou… taichou! It's dangerous!" Kiyone yelled, running past Soi Fon towards her captain.

"Keep away, Kiyone!" yelled Ukitake, stopping Kiyone in her tracks.

Soi Fon watched their exchange, bored.

"Okie dokie, how about we go on and run away?" asked his long time friend and accomplice. Grabbing Ukitake's shoulder, Kyoraku shunpoed away with Nanao close behind.

"Shunsui…" Yamamoto opened both his eyes fully and took off after them.

"Wait a minute, Kyoraku. My subordinates are still…" protested Ukitake as they fall off the cliff.

"Calm down. I dare you to fight Yama-jii up there. Then everyone will really be caught up in it and die. Those two will be okay. Don't you feel it? One more person on our side is coming this way."

Ukitake eyes widened as he realized.

"Hold on tight, we're almost to the ground."

All Kiyone could do was watch as her captain was dragged off the cliff by the eighth division captain.

"Can't stand around watching forever" said Soi Fon. She had been merciful enough, allowing Kiyone to watch her captain get whisked off. Kiyone turned at the sound of Soi Fon's voice, only to meet with a vicious kick that threw her onto the floor. Soi Fon planted her foot on Kiyone's chest.

"You vermin, your actions are shameful and a betrayal to the pride of an officer of the Gotei 13!"

She dug her heels into Kiyone's chest.

"But rest assured, to ensure that you would not bring yourself further shame I will bury you right at this very moment."

"Argh!" Kiyone screamed in pain.

She saw the look in Soi Fon's eyes many times before. She knew she can't possibly defeat Soi Fon. Out of nowhere, a shadow came and grabbed Soi Fon off her. The speed at which her unknown savior appeared was shocking. The only thing she felt was the gust of wind left behind by that person.

_I heard you changed. But I never knew it was so much. _Yoruichi sped up, knowing that if she was a second late, Kiyone's lungs would have been crushed and she would be buried. _That smile. When has it stop radiating the warmth that I came to love? When did it become this sadistic sneer? Did my leaving do all this to you, Soi Fon? Grabbing her by her waist is definitely not an option. Especially after that time. _She reached out her hand and grabbed Soi Fon's throat and forcefully yanked her off Kiyone and sped towards the edge of the cliff.

"Let go!" protested Soi Fon, trying to pry the unknown attacker's fingers off her neck. The attacker looked familiar. Long violet hair, golden eyes, cocoa skin. Despite the cloth wrapped around the attacker's face, covering every feature except the eyes, Soi Fon felt her heart lurched, her heartbeat sped up as the thought of Yoruichi crossed her mind. She pushed it away and concentrated on the task at hand.

"My, my. Don't fuss so much. You're just as short tempered as ever" said Yoruichi, keeping her voice light and playful. The joy at which meeting her protégé was overwhelming.

_That voice!_ Soi Fon watched as the attacker reached up to reveal her identity. She shut her eyes, unable to watch. Knowing that if it was Yoruichi, she need to muster up all the strength she had to bury whatever feeling she had left for her former mentor and remind herself of her resolve and what Yoruichi had done to her.

She opened her eyes. Shock was evident on her face.

"You're…Yoruichi" Soi Fon hated herself at that moment. She sounded weak and breathless. Even to herself!

"Long time no see, Soi Fon" said Yoruichi with her trademark grin. She gathered kido in her free hand and prepared for their landing.

Soi Fon eyes widened at the sight of the kido. _Is she really going to kill me? _She thought fearfully. _No! how can she! If there is anyone who deserved to be killed around here is her! She left me! Then she came back! Kissed me, and then render me unconscious! _

A loud crash was heard as the two of them crashed into the ground.

* * *

AN: a really long chapter. if you all watched the anime, most of it is plain cut and paste. like i said, i'm trying to keep as close to the anime as i can. to all those who reviewed, thank you so much. it meant a lot to me. just want to apologize for the delay in the update as i was really addicted to season five of the L word...i finally finish the entire season. i hope u all would like this chapter of mine. pls read and review and also pardon the spelling errors and atrocious grammar. thanks!


	10. The Showdown part I

A lone shadow dashed through the woods. The sound of footsteps could be heard. It was a chase and the hunter has now become the hunted. Ten yards away, the last leaf of a tree fell. Like a flag, it signifies the change in dynamics. She decides to stop running and face the hunter head on. As though it was a choreographed move, she blocked the perfectly executed roundhouse kick with on of her own. The leaf that was caught in between fell apart from the force of the blow. Jumping backwards, they each landed on a tree about fifty yards away from each other. She grinned as she looked at the hunter while the hunter only scowled back.

"I see." Soi Fong sneered. "Just because you haven't shown yourself in a great long time doesn't particularly mean you've raised your skills."

"It looks like _your _skills have dulled quite a bit, on the other hand." S_till as competitive as ever aren't you._

Soi Fong's eyes widened at the statement before narrowing it with anger. _Why do you still think that you're superior? Why can't you see that I have already beaten you? _

"The Sky Walk cloak that the ryoka child was wearing had the Shihouin clan crest on it. You gave it to him didn't you?" H_ow low could you sink, aiding a ryoka like that. _

"That's right. 'Cause if he couldn't fly, he could not save Rukia." _Why cant you see that she wasn't meant to die…why did you have to do that to Kiyone? That look in your eyes…_

"My, my. How the tenshihesoban Shihouin clan has fallen. If it is known that you aided a ryoka, the destruction of one of the four noble houses will be assured. Like the fall of the Shiba clan, the decay of a prestigious clan is not a very attractive sight." _I sure did enjoy that…the fall of the Shiba clan. You who never knew how to behave like a noble, shouldn't be a noble…_

Yoruichi grinned.

"Aren't you the talkative one today? Are you excited from seeing the senpai you admired so much?"

Soi Fong scowled harder.

"Or is this an expression of your usual bitterness?" she asked upon seeing the scowl on Soi Fong's face.

"Eh, supreme commander of the omnistukido? Was being my successor so heavy a burden for you?" S_o I was right, they did choose you to be my successor. They are not so blind afterall. I heard you did a great many things for the division and changed it fer the better…I wish I could tell you how proud of you I am._

Soi Fong's eyes narrowed at the mention of being chosen to be Yoruichi's successor. Reaching behind for her sword she said with hatred in her voice,

"Don't be so full of yourself. When will you stop thinking that you're better than us?! Both the SMC and the CC are under MY control now!"

Yoruichi watched the display in front of her, slightly amused. Her eyes widened when she saw Soi Fong drew her sword.

"Your days are…. Long over, Shihouin Yoruichi!" yelled an enraged Soi Fong, sticking her sword into the tree she was standing on.

In a blink of an eye, the elites of Soul Society appeared and surrounded a stunned Yoruichi.

"That's the difference between you and me now. You must know; the drawing of the CC commander's sword signifies the start of an execution. The target of annihilation is…all those who oppose the commander…even if it's the previous commander! For you who have abandoned the title of corps commander, there is nowhere to run, Yoruichi!"

Soi Fong's evil smirk was getting wider and wider. Yoruichi looked at the one she loved sadly. _Have my leaving did this to you? We really need to talk. _ She grinned as a plan begins to form in her mind. In a flash, she began disappearing and appering everywhere. The speed of her shunpo was astounding, deserving of her title. The elites did not have time to react and they were sent flying all over the place. In the midst of all these, Soi Fong watched, wide eyed.

"Heh. I've sure been underestimated. I certainly did abandon the name of corps commander, but I don't remember abandoning my other name." Yoruichi said with a smile.

Soi Fong eyes narrowed at the mentioned of Yoruichi's other name.

"Shunshin Yoruichi." She whispered to herself.

" Well, I see. Then I have no choice. With my own hands, I shall strip you of the other name too!" she said as she tossed her captain haori into the air.

"The supreme corps commander punitive combat uniform. That's a nostalgic outfit." _It sure reminds me of better times._

"Does it remind you of the old days?"

"A little" _I lied._

"Don't hold back. Remember it well. And _carefully _compare…you and me...Who is the superior warrior?!" yelled Soi Fong before launching herself at Yoruichi.

Yoruichi's eyes widened at the amount of venom in Soi Fong's voice. For half a second, she doesn't know who the person in front of her is. _Is that really you, Soi Fong?_

With a speed faster than the naked eye can capture, they engaged in a fierce unarmed combat battle. Each punched delivered was blocked so was each kick.

_I see an opening!_

"Thud" the sound of a fist crashing into a shoulder could be heard. At the same time, the sound of knuckles meeting the jaw bone resonated.

They leaped back to their original spot.

"I took one hit" Soi Fong's said to herself softly as she surveyed her injuries. Looking at Yoruichi, she called "one hit each; we split the pain, Yoruichi."

_I didn't go all out for the fear of hurting you. Seeing that you can block almost all my blows, it makes me really proud of you. You really have grown Soi Fong. One hit each we split the pain? Ha! It hurts me just to land a blow on you. Whoever said that love is fair?_

"You're right." Yoruichi said, opening her eyes.

Seeing that Yoruichi agreed with her brought a hint of smile onto her face. _Damn it! I shouldn't be feeling pleased just because she agreed with me on something. Why?! Why is it that after so long, I still sought her approval?! No, I can't go back being that meek person that I was last time. I'm stronger than her. More superior, more powerful. I can take her down._

"Do you have some hidden tricks in that uniform? I don't recognize your moves, Soi Fong."

"Did you say…tricks?" she asked, her eyes shone with hatred and disbelief. _My, my. To think you have to resort to insults. How low is that, Yoruichi._

_Seems like it worked. She is ticked off.__ You did not change as much as you thought you have._

"Is that what you think? Really…"

Right after she said that, Soi Fong shunpoed right next to Yoruichi. Her unsheathed zanpakutou was in her hands. With one hand holding the handle, she covered the blade with the other. "Jinteki Syakusetsu, Suzumebachi!" she intoned as she released her zapakutou.

Yoruichi, although prepared, was still a little shocked at Soi Fong's speed. Upon see the blade at the base of her neck and the way Soi Fong was holding it, she knew what was coming. Even in the heat of the battle, she still could not stop marveling at the level of skill Soi Fong displayed. She flashed away as soon as the release was completed.

"You won't get away!" yelled Soi Fong, appearing behind her.

Stunned, she looked back only to find Soi Fong glaring at her with hatered in her eyes. A houmonka appeared as Soi Fong slashed her chest. Leaping away, she landed with a hand over her chest.

"Why can't you…realize that I'm superior?! Why can't you realize that I was taking it easy on you until just now?!"

Yoruichi's eyes widen at the revelation.

"The likes of me couldn't take it easy fighting against you…is that what you thought? I told you not to be full of yourself. I am NOW stronger than you. Know in death, the cost of retreating from the front lines for a hundred years, Yoruichi!" yelled Soi Fong.

_No. I never thought of it that way before. Why are you always so insistent that I believe I'm more superior than you? Why do you always think so little of yourself? That look, it's so maniacal that it breaks my heart. Do you really want me dead that badly? _She removed her hand from her chest to reveal the crest.

Soi Fong smirked when she saw the crest.

"Do you remember, Yoruichi…the power of my Suzumebachi? Houmonka. The stamp of death is first carved into the target's body by my first attack. This ability which is incomplete while you're still here, has been perfected in these last hundred years. Run around so at least you won't get hit a second time, Yoruichi! Suzumebachi's power is a two hit decisive kill! If I deal you two hits in the same place, it will result in absolute death!" with that, she flashed behind Yoruichi.

Her eyes widened as she felt the wind rushing behind her, she knew that Soi Fong would be coming. _You completed the crest, how hard have you been training these hundred years Soi Fong?_

"Here's the second hit, Yoruichi!"

* * *

AN: I was watching the anime again to pass time when i decided to finish up this chapter. this is by far the shortest chap i have written.writing this, really took alot out of me, physically cuz im really giddy and all that but i just cant leave the chap undone...this is not the end, those of you who watched the anime, you'll know...pls read and reivew and i hope you love the chap. and i apologise in advance for the spelling mistakes and all that appear in this chap.

shane.mc


	11. The Showdown part II

"Ching!" the sound of metal slashing at flesh and the ripping of fabric could be heard. The stinger did not manage to hit the target, creating a new one instead. Yoruichi jumped and somersaulted high into the air. Leaping from branch to branch through the trees, she landed on the ground and began running. Soi Fong gave chase, following her mentor closely.

"You show your back to the enemy to run away and _still _look like that, Yoruichi?!" _I'm going to catch you. I'm going to catch you and bring you down. This will prove once and for all that I'm superior to you. You no longer stand in front of me. Look at this, YOU, the great Yoruichi-sama is running away from ME._

"You're probably trying to buy time by running around like that, but, it's POINTLESS! My early houmonka disappear in about an hour, but now they have no time restriction! Unless I erase them with my will, they will never disappear! Just running around –"

Soi Fong's 'victory' speech was cut short as she gasped. Without breaking her speed, Yoruichi turned around and launched two knives at Soi Fong under the disguise of a kick, using her hands to support herself. Soi Fong's eyes widened for an instance.

"Hidden blades?!" she said to herself.

Her eyes narrowed at the low technique Yoruichi used. _What a low way to fight. To think you're once my captain, the one I admired to the point of worship._

"Not good enough." She whispered as she lifted her right hand to block the blades. The next thing she knew was having Yoruichi's full body weight on her right arm as she landed with her right leg poised to slam down onto her head. Soi Fong's eyes widened at the speed Yoruichi was exhibiting. Each time she thought she had the upper hand; she was brought crashing back to reality as Yoruichi revealed the depth of her skills. Holding down onto Yoruichi's left foot with her left hand, she swung herself up, meeting Yoruichi's right foot with a kick of her own. Locking the foot with both her feet, she threw Yoruichi's weight off her right arm. In a flash, her right hand was raised and poised to slash at the houmonka that is at Yoruichi's abdomen, only to have it deflected, hitting Yoruichi on her left cheek. They both landed in a clearing about twenty five meters away from each other with Yoruichi catching her breath. Blood was dripping down her cheek wound as a houmonka appeared.

"Do you understand yet…that I am superior to you? If you understand, then…" Soi Fong engaged her shunko. White aura surrounded her with a mist of swirling energy. "…I'll finish you!"

Yoruichi watched the scene unfold before her with widened eyes. _Why are you so fixated on proving that you are superior to me? Why?! Shunko. So you have discovered it too. Judging by the looks, it is only in its initial stage…but to accomplish this and the houmonka in a short span of a hundred years is a huge accomplishment itself. You really worked yourself to the bone didn't you, Soi Fong. The last hundred years must have been hard on you. Do you really want to defeat me so badly? Do you want to defeat me so badly to the extent that both your mental and physical health suffer? If only you knew, how much it pains me to watch you put yourself through all that suffering just to defeat me. If I could, I would give up right now and let you skin me alive. That is, after all, what I truly deserve. Yet, I can't. The want, no, the need to feel you in my arms again is overwhelming. __There is so much I need to tell you. The state that Soul Society is truly in, how much I missed you over the last hundred years, how terribly sorry I am for putting you through all that...  
_

"Surprised? Never seen this before, have you? This is a combat technique that combines hakuda and kido. It is something I created. Be proud. I just perfected this technique the other day. You'll be the first one I test it out on in an actual battle. After all, it still doesn't even have a name yet." _I knew it! Once this trump of mine is played, Shihouin Yoruichi, you have nowhere to run. __**I **__am the victor of this match._

"No," Yoruichi closed her eyes and bowed her head in resignation. _Looks like I'll have to fight you with it after all._ "—it does have a name."

"What did you say?!" a hint of shock and disbelief laced her words.

"It's called shunko." She replied without opening her eyes as she straightened her posture.

Soi Fong eyes widened at the revelation of the name. _How did you know about this?! It is supposed to be my trump! No one knows about this. No one. _"What are you talking about…"

"Do you know why the punitive combat uniform has no fabric on the back and on the shoulders?" she raised her right arm with her head still bowed and eyes closed, she activated her own shunko. Looking up and opening her eyes she said, "That's because there is no meaning to have them there. In this technique's complete form, the user is covered in highly compressed kido on her back and shoulders. Then by exploding this kido, she pumps it into her arms and legs to fight. In other words, when this technique is initialized, the fabric on the back and shoulders are blown away simultaneously."

Soi Fong could only watch on wide-eyed as kido gathered onto Yoruichi's back and shoulders, blowing the fabric there to bits. Unlike hers, Yoruichi's shunko was clear, not just an aura or a mist. Kido exploded on Yoruichi's back as she reined the amount flowing into her limbs. All Soi Fong could do was look at the person standing in front of her now. Yoruichi's face was serious, the expression reserved only for the gravest of matters. The kido on her back and shoulders brought out her high cheekbones and the glow of her eyes. With the orange sweater now blown off, Soi Fong saw that Yoruichi was sporting something similar to the punitive combat uniform. The uniform revealed Yoruichi's tan lean arms. The arms that Soi Fong longed to be held in. Her heart speed a little. _I never knew you looked like that underneath that bulky orange sweater…I would give everything, just to feel your arms around me and your breath at my ear again. Yoruichi-sama…KUSO! In this kind of situation, I could still think of stuff like that…look what you have done to me, Shihouin Yoruichi! Just a look at you in that and I've lost the entire battle. Everything. All of a sudden, I long to be in your arms again. Why?! Why must you do this to me?! _

Yoruichi watched as a series of emotions washed through Soi Fong. To an outsider, it would appear that Soi Fong was only shocked and nothing more. To Yoruichi, however, the wave of emotions was not that easy to hide.

"Oh well. The truth is that I didn't want to fight you with this technique. Be careful, Soi Fong. I can't completely control this technique either." _I don't want you to get hurt. One miss calculation can result in your death…that is something I can never live with. Should the need arises, I'll give up my life for you in a heartbeat, and do you know that?_ A small smile graced her features when she saw the almost childish look of shock that still remains on Soi Fong's face. With a grin, she let the kido that she's been holding back explode.

* * *

AN: I wanted to finish up the whole fight scene before posting it. But I guess making it into three parts instead of two would be better...hope you guys like this short chapter. :) Like I said in my prev AN, I'm currently swamped with work, but I swear I'll make time to re-watch the epis and continue writing. Thank you all for the feedbacks and reviews. It makes me feel like continuing with the story. Arigatou gozaimas mina!

peace,

shane.mc


	12. The Showdown part III

The kido dug a huge gorge in the ground, leaving only a piece in the centre which Soi Fong was standing on.

"Do you…do you know why I haven't shown you this technique until now?"

"This…"

"It's because this technique is far too dangerous."

"Yaaaaaaaaa!!" Soi Fong charged at Yoruichi with a battle cry, her shunko engaged.

Using her momentum, she leaped at Yoruichi, her stinger aim straight at the houmonka placed at Yoruichi's abdomen.

"Stop it."

Right at the very last moment, Yoruichi stick out her hand and placed it beneath Soi Fong's, neutralizing the attack completely. Gently grabbing her hand, Yoruichi brought it close to her face.

Soi Fong watched wide-eyed as her former captain grabbed her hands and held it up, closing the distance between them. Dozens of emotions flashed through Yoruichi's eyes. _Which one of them is what you really feel?_

"You are not ready for this technique yet."

_Han ki…canceled out. Nullifying the opponent's kido with kido of the same quality and quantity but opposite rotation…but against that much speed and kido… and in an instant with so little effort…_

"How?! I know I'm stronger than you! I know that I…" Soi Fong launched herself at Yoruichi, in a desperate attack. Having her attack blocked, she somersaulted backwards and landed about three meters away. "Have surpassed you!" her eyes narrowed in anger.

"These one hundred years of separation were supposed to have brought you decay and me power!" Her shunko swirled around her more furiously as she glowed brighter.

"And yet, why…do you still stand ahead of me?!"

_I knew you always had issues…but I never knew it was this bad…why? Why is it that you are so bent on defeating me? Why is it that you can't understand that I had many more years to train than you? Why do you have to push yourself so hard?!_

"Why do you still control me?!"

_No one is controlling you…it's your obsession to defeat me that is clouding your vision. Tell me Soi Fong…tell me what I can do to make up for that hundred years of pain and misery that I've caused…_

"Answer me, Yoruichi!"

She charged straight at her mentor in blind rage.

"Why?! Why must you leave right after you gave me a taste of what it's like to be with you?! Why?! Do you think it's funny?! Why do you toy with my feelings so?! Do you even know how much it hurts to find you gone and not know it?! Tell me! What exactly am I to you?! A plaything?! I know…I know you love **Urahara**…and you knew I had a thing for you. That's why you kissed me! Right?! You took pity on poor lil' Soi Fong whose love is unrequited and decided to be nice and kiss her. Do you even _know_ what it is like for me when I first saw you?! I bet you didn't even know I existed! But that doesn't matter…I was contented to just watch you from a far, knowing that a _princess_ can never mix with a mere servant. My first spar with you was the shock of my life. Being your bodyguard was like a dream come true, I swore on my soul that no harm will come to you on my watch. That's how much you mean to me. And look what that got me?! Kissing me again and knocking me out?! You think that is funny?! Won't **Urahara **_**taichou**_ have something to say about that?! What kind of games are you playing at?! Answer me!! Why?! You promised!! And what did I get?! Betrayal. And it happened on the very next day! Can't you see the irony?" Soi Fong gave a short mirthless laugh.

"Liar!" She charged at Yoruichi, having giving her former captain a piece of her mind.

"I was disappointed in you! I hated you…and even cursed you! And I swore that I would obtain the strength to surpass you and capture you with my own hands!" She gathered kido in her right hand and projected it at Yoruichi. Though shocked at the display of anger and hatred that laced the words coming out of her protégé's mouth, her reflexes was quick enough to prevent her from being fried by the beam. Leaping up she faced the enraged Soi Fong.

"I will not forgive you, Yoruichi! You betrayed my respect and trust, I will never…"

Yoruichi knew she couldn't keep her kido back anymore. That's the problem she has with her shunko. She could never limit the output of her kido. It takes up most of her concentration just to make sure that it doesn't explode as it was years since she used shunko. She pushed Soi Fong out of the way and punched the air, letting the kido explode all around her. In the midst of confusion, Soi Fong charged at Yoruichi. Only to be stopped by the insane amount of kido emanating from Yoruichi's outstretched fist.

"Why?"

"Why…why did you not take me with you?" Soi Fong tried to hold her tears back but to no avail and they began to fall.

Yoruichi watched her face impassive. She was drained from holding the kido back for so long. _Kisuke was right, I really need more practice._

"Yoruichi–sama…" Soi Fong fell to her knees. She gave in to her tears and broke down in front of Yoruichi.

"You've gotten stronger since I last saw you." Her voice was devoid of emotions. It was hard for Soi Fong to tell what her former mentor was feeling. _It hurts. It hurts so badly…do you not feel anything at all? After all that I've said, that's all you can reply? Am I so unworthy of your concern already?_

_Oh god, Soi Fong…please stop crying. Please. Damn! I knew is shouldn't masked my emotions and use that monotonous voice and talk to her. But…I'm afraid. I'm afraid that my voice will crack. Pride. It's always for pride. I end up hurting her even more because of my damn pride. That 'speech' back there, was that what she really feel? I never knew…all those years…and the distaste in which she spat out Kisuke's name…does she really think that I abandoned Soul Society 'because Kisuke is my lover and I have to leave with him?_

"Soi Fong..."

She looked up. She could tell that this was taking a lot out of her mentor. Her voice was cracking as though there was multitude of words that she wanted to express by was unable to.

"Yoruichi-sama…!"

Soi Fong lunged forward to catch the now unconscious Yoruichi.

"We'll talk about this later. I promise." Yoruichi mumbled.

The ryoka brats could wait. Right now, nothing is more important to Soi Fong than the one resting in her lap.

* * *

AN: sorry for the late updates...you guys probably think i fell off the face of the earth or something like that. anw, i just watched ddr..and i think it rocked! hahaha! a short chapter as usual. this will be the last of the showdown. hope you all will like it..pls read and enjoy! if possible, review! cuz im kinda stuck...so feel free to pm me if u haf any ideas as to what shld happen nxt...

tks a million to those who review and liked my story...i really appreciate it. (:

shane.mc


	13. Explanations?

Reiatsu was exploding everywhere around her…Ichigo's, Byakuya-yago's, Yama-jii's, Uikitake's, Kyoraku's…_I need to get up!_ _But, it's so comfortable here…wait…Aizen?! Isn't that fella supposed to be dead? Heard he got a sword rammed into him and pinned to the wall…caused his fukutaichou a lot of distress. Guess I really need to get up and see what's going on…_with that she opened her eyes to find herself staring at a black wall. Or so it would seem if the said wall did not start moving. It took a while for Yoruichi to realize that she had fallen asleep on Soi Fong's lap. She looked up to find a pair of storm grey eyes looking at her intently.

"Yoruichi-sama." She whispered.

"Soi Fong, did you feel that? The reiatsu of that Aizen guy. We have to go. They need our help." With that, Yoruichi stood up to leave.

"Hai" _but what of your promise? You said you did explain everything to me._

Shunpo-ing across the entire Soul Society, they reached just in time. Aizen was about to draw his sword and attack Kukakuu. Placing a hand over his sword's hilt, Yoruichi prevented him from drawing while Soi Fong held her zanpakutou at his throat.

"Well, isn't that a nostalgic face?"

"Don't move. If you move even one muscle…"

"I'll lop off your head in an instant."

"I see."

"Kukakuu!"

"Yo, Yoruichi! I had too damn much free time, so I came to check things out while taking a walk.

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Standing far from the place Aizen was trapped, Gin muttered "Ah…what a ruckus. What am I gonna do?" lifting his hand, he knocked a debris aiming for his head out of the way; only to have it caught by Matsumoto.

"Don't move," she said, holding her sword to his neck.

"Sorry, Aizen taichou. I went ahead and got caught."

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"This is for you."

"What was that?"

"Don't you understand, Aizen…that you three have nowhere to run?" said Yoruichi as the shadows of shinigamis began appearing everywhere.

Ukitake Jyuushiro, Kyoraku Shunsui, Ise Nanao…Iba Tetsuzaemon, Sasakibe Choujiro, Yamamoto Genryuusai. Hisagi Shuuhei had his sword at his taichou, Tousen Kaname's neck.

"It's over, Aizen."

He laughed.

"What's so funny?!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. It's time."

Yoruichi's eyes widened at the meaning behind.

"Get away, Soi Fong!"

They leapt off just before the negation light completely surrounds Aizen.

The sky above them split open to reveal several Meno Grandes of the Gillian level.

"Menos Grandes?!" Soi Fong half whispered, wide eyed.

"Gillans! Just how many are they?!" said a frightened Oomadea.

"No, look. There is something behind them" pointed Ukitake.

All the rest could do was to watch as the same thing happened to both Tousen and Gin.

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"I'm a lil' disappointed. You could have hold on a lil' longer" said Gin. Lowering his voice, he said "sorry" before he was swept upwards by the light.

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"You think you're getting away?!" yelled Iba as he drew his sword, preparing to give chase.

"Stop it"

"Commander general…"

"That light is called negacion, Menos use it when helping one of their own. It was over once they were wrapped in that light. Inside that light is a completely isolated, un-affectable world. Anyone who has ever fought a Menos knows that the moment the light comes down; we are no longer able to touch Aizen.

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-That night-

_I really should tell her why I had to leave. I promised to tell her so didn't I? So why am I still on my ass trying to reason with myself instead of seeing her? Good question indeed. Right! Enough of wimping out. I'm sick of this behavior of mine. I shall just go there and talk to her. Maybe she would be reasonable enough to hear me out. After all, I'm leaving for the real world first thing tomorrow morning. _ With that, Yoruichi made her way to Soi Fong's room in the second division headquarters.

Sliding the shoji open silently, she tried to slip into the room unnoticed; only to be stopped by the kido blocking the door. _Does this means that she is bathing again? _The image of Soi Fong's exposed back leapt into her mind instantly. The image was quickly replaced by one where Soi Fong hugged her to her naked chest (even though she was in her cat form, it did feel good). Yoruichi nearly had a nosebleed there and then. The mere thought of her protégé naked was more than enough to induce a bleeding nose.

Using her own kido to nullify the kido blocking the door, she let herself in. Just as she expected, Soi Fong was indeed bathing but the said person had already finish her bath and was walking out of the shower room with a white fluffy towel wrapped around her. The sight of her leave much room for imagination as the towel did not cover much, it was just nice. Pulling the towel a little higher or a little lower would result in certain parts exposed. This was just too much for Yoruichi to handle. Her already sexually deprived brain and state was going into overdrive as her wild imagination took her on a wild ride. Blood spurted from her nose anime style as she fell onto the floor twitching.

Turning around to the source of the noise, Soi Fong was shocked to see a pale Yoruichi on her floor twitching. Bending down, she places a hand on her mentor's forehead. Suddenly, Yoruichi's eyes opened and she shot up.

"Ouch!"

Yoruichi rubbed the sore spot. She had crashed into Soi Fong's head when she shot up suddenly. That hit brought Soi Fong out of her concerned mode and made her excruciatingly aware of her current way of dressing. Her embarrassment immediately changed to one of anger as she realized that Yoruichi had sneaked into her room. _How did she get pass that kido? Oh right. She taught me that. Of course she knows how to break it. _

The knock on the head did Yoruichi a world of good as her head was somewhat cleared and freed from the erotic thoughts about her protégé. It made her remember her main purpose of the visit.

Turning to the scantily clad Soi Fong, she shut her eyes and began speaking. _If I don't see her, I would stop thinking about those stuff. _She reasoned with herself.

"Soi Fo…"

"Get. The. Hell. Out."

"But I…"

With her eyes closed, she did not see a boiling Soi Fong in front of her.

"Huh?"

Yoruichi felt herself being lifted off the ground. She did not dare to open her eyes, giving her current altitude; she knows very well what she has a good view of.

_Maybe I should just take a peek, seeing how I had my face stuck in them before…_

Before she could finish contemplating about opening her eyes, she felt herself sailing through the air. Landing on the floor on the opposite of the room in an unglamorous heap, Yoruichi picked herself up and looked at Soi Fong for the first time that night.

Once her eyes connected with Yoruichi's, Soi Fong found that she was unable to look away. So intense was the emotions swirling in those golden orbs. She saw confusion, remorse, guilt, something she can't put her finger on and most of all, desire. A hunger that she alone could satisfy. _Was that love? No, it can't be. She is with Urahara taichou. She abandoned me for him. She ran away and deserts her position for him. For him. All for him. _Soi Fong felt herself getting bitter at the thoughts. Her eyes raked across Yoruichi's body. _Damn it. Couldn't she choose something that would not flatter her figure so?! Is she just out to torture me?! _

Yoruichi could feel Soi Fong's eyes raking across her. She was thankful that she had enough sense to pick something that flatters her so. It's not really difficult to choose seeing that almost everything flatters her figure. Seeing Soi Fong there motionless with water running down the side of her face, her chin and rolling even lower gave Yoruichi second thoughts about her little talk with her protégé. _Maybe we should talk later and play first. How I wish I was that drop of water._

"Soi Fong, I…"

"I won't repeat myself. Get out. This instant!"

With that, Soi Fong pushed a stunned Yoruichi out of the door and resealed it with kido. All Yoruichi could do was stare at the door helplessly, knowing that it's futile to sneak in again. _Until I have better control over my hormones, I'll make sure you sit down and listen to what I have to say. _With that in mind, she heads towards her own room.

Behind that shoji was a breathless and pissed off Soi Fong. Pissed with herself for feeling so affected by Yoruichi's presence, for not throwing her out the instant she saw her, for being breathless, for her stupid heart which would not stop beating like a freight train. She is still pissed about what happened a hundred years ago and is made even madder by her own performance in the afternoon. _I knew I should have tossed her out the moment I saw her. Why?! Why didn't I do just that?! She still owes me an explanation…at this point in time, I don't know if I even want to hear it. Why did I have to break down in front of her? That was stupid. Stupid and weak. I seriously need to grow up and grow a backbone. Not to mention a better and more frightening mask.

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_

AN: gomen mina-san! it's been a while...had mids and tons of proj to rush, mtgs at weird and random timings...lack of sleep..anw, the most impt thing is, i hope u guys like this...it will make the lack of sleep worthwhile! cheers!

_shane.mc  
_


	14. A Dream Or Is It Not?

Knock, knock!

Two sharp raps sounded on her shoji. A hand shot out and grabbed the clock off the headboard. Cracking one eye open, the person took a good ten second look at the red digits before comprehension of the time sinks in.

_Gwad! 0400. Who the hell can it be?! The person had better have a good reason to be banging on my door at this godforsaken unearthly hour of the day. I didn't even get a full two hours worth of sleep, given what had happened last night. Maybe it will go away if I ignored it. They know better than to disturb me this early._

The knocking returned much to the displeasure of the one in the room. "Alright already, I'm coming. Hold your horses. Stop knocking already." She grumbled as she stumbled out of bed and donned her robe to cover her scantily clad body. Tying the sash, she slide open the door gracelessly; the displeasure on her face was as plain as day.

Her facial expressions changed from one of displeasure to one of shock in an instant. Right after her sleep addled brain made sense of the person standing in front of her.

"Soi Fong?!"

_What the hell…am I dreaming?! If I am then I don't want to wake up. Whoever that wakes me up now shall understand the true meaning of fear. _

--Meanwhile--

Soi Fong stood frozen at the sight in front of her. It was on an impulse that she had made her way to Yoruichi's room and proceeds to hammer her door down. She had no idea what to expect and a scantily clad Yoruichi was definitely not on her list of what to expect. A displeased, pissed off, sleepy Yoruichi: yes. Scantily clad, sexily tousled haired Yoruichi: no. Soi Fong could feel her heart beat faster, desire was growing within her. _Might as well just give in. being with her tonight doesn't mean I forgive her. Does it? Damn it! I knew I shouldn't give in to impulses. That's what not sleeping the entire night does to me. Or should I say that's what Shihouin Yoruichi does to me. She robs me of my ability to think rationally, always. Argh! Heck it. _With that, Soi Fong pushed the stunned Yoruichi into her room and proceeded to seal the door with kido before sliding it close.

All Yoruichi could do was gape at the sight and let herself be manipulated the way Soi Fong saw fit. It was her first time seeing her protégé so forceful except for the way she tried to kill her yesterday afternoon. Her brain soon registered Soi Fong's clothes, or the lack of it. _Since when?? Was she even dressed when I slid open the door??Come to think of it, what is she doing here? Wha--! _Her thoughts were abruptly cut off as Soi Fong began kissing her neck, hands roaming all over her body. Somewhere along the way, her robe had fallen on the floor and her bra was on its merry way to the floor. _Oh god…I hope she bites down and -- !! _It was as though Soi Fong heard her thoughts. She bit down on the skin at the base of her neck and proceeded to suck on it, leaving a mark. She went lower, kissing her way down to Yoruichi's mounds. She blew lightly on them and watched in fascination as Yoruichi's nipples stood at attention. Slowly and deliberately, she took one nipple into her mouth and swirl her tongue around it making Yoruichi mad with desire. _Holding back your moans? I shall make you scream my name. _With her right hand, she massaged the other breast as her left ventured south. Stopping her ministrations on Yoruichi's breast, she brought her lips to her mentor's ears and whispered "Wet aren't we?" giving the shell of that ear a long lick, she turn her attention back to Yoruichi's breast.

"Mmmm…Soi Fong"

Yoruichi could not help but moaned out loud as Soi Fong bit down on her right breast and marked it. She ran her hand through Soi Fong's unbound midnight locks. _Feels like silk. What is this feeling…it is almost as if… _her thoughts ended there. Yoruichi fell into a deep sleep as the lack of sleep combined with the events that happened the day and the emotional stress she faced when she met with Soi Fong caught up with her.

The fact that Yoruichi is asleep shook Soi Fong out of her lust induced quest. She slid her mentor's bra back on and clasped it before laying her down on her bed. _Oh my god! What have I done?! _Soi Fong berated herself as the magnitude of her actions came back to her. _I almost had….oh god! _She dashed out of her room. Sliding the door shut, she dashed her way back to her quarters where she took a long cold bath to rid herself of all dirty thoughts and prepare for the day. _It is almost time. _Stepping out of the bathroom, she made her way to the training grounds and began warming up.

--Five hours later--

Yoruichi woke up with a start. _Soi Fong!_ She looked around. Everything was in its place, just as she left it when she returned to her room after confronting Soi Fong the night before. _Nothing's out of place? That dream…was it even a dream? Did it happen? I wish it did… _ She took a look at the clock on her headboard. 1000. The numbers stared back at her. _Argh! Heck it. I shall just bathe and get ready to go back._ Taking off her clothes, she saw her desire stained under garment. _All that from a dream. Man! I have it bad. _As she proceeded on with her bath, she noticed a red mark on her right breast. _No. it can't be. _She rubbed her eyes and took another look. The mark was still there. _Don't tell me…_ She ran to the mirror and took a look at her neck. It was covered with hickeys. _It wasn't a dream! _A smile spread over her face.

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AN: just a short chap. the next update will be quite a while as finals are approaching fast and all that crap we all put up with in sch, proj and all. i know this chap doesnt exactly say much and more like says nothing about the relationship of the two of them. anw, hope u guys like it.

_shane.mc_


	15. Is This The End?

Moving to the gate, Yoruichi looked back. She was, of course, in her cat form. _Where is she? Is she even coming? Does last night mean she forgave me? No. That's not the Soi Fong I know. She was just confused, lust-induced…erm…shit! I can't read her. I never could! Like how I never really understand why she kept blushing around me before. It's like I'm blind ten times over or I got dropped on my head right after my birth. I hope she comes. _Looking around one last time, she gave a small sigh and followed Ichigo and company into the gate. _I guess this is it then…will it be just like a hundred years ago? If only you knew, Soi Fong. If only you knew how much you meant to me then and now, maybe, just maybe, things could have been different between us. No matter what, my feelings for you would never change. Even if you do not find it in you to forgive me, I understand._

-Meanwhile-

Soi Fong was tearing her training ground apart. _Should I go? I think I will. No, no. I should not. If I go, does it mean that I forgive her? But I want to go. Maybe I should give in to my impulses. _She cringed at the memory of the results her latest impulse had produced. _Okay, maybe I shouldn't. I mean, I can hardly think straight around her and we all know she is definitely not level head enough and neither does she act her age. Oh god…_Soi Fong looked at the sky. _Guess I missed it after all. Damn! Why can't I be decisive when it comes to her? Argh! This is it then. Will history repeats itself, I wonder. If only she knew how much every single action of hers affects me and the magnitude of it. If only she knew that there is no difference in what I felt for her then and what I feel for her now. Not even a thousand years can change what I feel for you, Yoruichi-sama. Maybe, the next time we meet, I could tell you that I'm no longer angry. That I know you really do have a reason for leaving me behind and and I forgive you. I really do.

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_

AN: This concludes If Only You Knew. What begin as an oneshot became a 15 chapters long story. I hope all of you had as much fun reading as I had writing this. There might be a sequel, if there is it would be starting from the bount arc. Thank you all for putting up with my lousy grammar, horrible sentence structures and infrequent updating. I apologise if they are too out of character. As usual, all the characters belong to Kubo-sensei. To all of you who read/ read and reviewed this story of mine and all the other stuff I wrote, domo arigatou. Without your reviews, I don't think I could have continue writing. They inspire/motivate me to continue writing.

Once again, domo arigatou gozaimatsu. *bows*


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